A Call for Power
by ethyl
Summary: Nine-tails offers Naruto a deal. A tale of temptation, corruption, and .....romance?
1. The Deal

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Italics are thoughts.

It was a clear and sunny morning as Naruto cheerfully walked to his team's usual meeting spot. Along the way, he had taken the time to wish everyone who crossed his path a delightful morning. Among the adults, his acts of basic courtesy earned him nothing more than resentful stares, but he did not care, he was in too good a mood for it to be ruined just yet. Admittingly, he was busy wondering why his sensei, Hatake Kakashi had asked them to meet at this particular hour, instead of the usual time, which was around two hours earlier.

As he rounded the last corner, he was surprised to see his sensei already there and not even reading that annoying book of his. This was definitely not going to be a normal day.

"Ah, there you are Naruto," said Kakashi in greeting, "And it looks like Sasuke and Sakura are here as well," he added as the couple appeared around the corner. Sakura was gushing over Sasuke as she usually did and Sasuke was not paying her much attention, which was normal for the nonchalant heir of the Uchiha clan.

_"Oh, Kakashi-sensei is here on time," _thought Sakura to herself, it was definitely not something that happened every day.

"Eh, it looks like I won't be able to train you guys today," announced Kakashi in his neutral voice.

"WHAT!?!" exclaimed Naruto and Sakura in unison.

"Hey, hey, let me finish. Tsunade-sama has informed me that she wishes to assign us a C rank mission. _"Although it'll most likely turn into a B rank_._"_ Anyway, you guys go ahead and do whatever while I work out the details of the mission." With that said, the grey-haired jounin pulled out his favorite book, Come Come Paradise, and proceeded to leave before he added, "Oh Naruto, try to stay out of trouble this time. I'd hate to have another repeat of last week." 

"I already told you that it wasn't my fault!" proclaimed the blonde ninja.

After their sensei had left, the three ninjas stood around, wondering about what they were going to do.

"Oh, Sakura-chan, how about we go and eat some ramen, I'm about to die from starvation!" After so many months of trying go out on a date with his crush, Naruto had pretty much given up hope. He only continued to ask her out as a joke to himself, but his two teammates did not know and still thought his actions to be genuine.

"Heh, what makes you think she'd want to eat ramen with you, Dead-last?" said Sasuke with an especially malicious snicker.

"Don't call me that!" yelled Naruto, anger clearly marked on his face. 

_"Maybe I went too far this time_,_"_ wondered black-haired Uchiha. Although he would hate to admit it, Naruto was giving him the creeps. He had never gotten so angry before when he teased him.

"Why do you keep calling me that?!" demanded the furious ninja, quivering in anger.

_"Yes, give in to your anger, it will make you stronger,"_ rumbled a voice.

"What! Why would I want to do that?" demanded Naruto.

"What the hell are you talking about?" growled Sasuke,

"You mean you didn't tell me that stuff about giving into my anger?"

"Of course not, you total moron"

"But then, who did?" wondered Naruto out loud. His anger had vanished as fast as it had appeared. That voice he heard was bothering him. He knew it was not a figment of his imagination, so then where did it come from?

"Pff, like I'd know. You probably imagined it," replied Sasuke with another snicker.

"Well, I'm going to go get some ramen," announced Naruto with grin, "Later guys." Even with the thought of ramen in his head, the strange voice still troubled him. Hands in his pockets, he strolled towards his favorite ramen stand deep in thought. He barely noticed that he had already arrived.

Naruto was such a frequent customer that the owner did not even have to ask him what he wanted. He already knew the young ninja's favorite meal so whenever he saw him, he would have a steaming bowl of ramen already served.

The blonde genin needed no further urging as he settled into a stool and began to devour his meal. All the while though, he continued to think about what the voice had told him, about what would have happened had he actually let his anger take control of him. It would have felt good to release it all at once, he knew. His rivalry with Sasuke had caused him quite a few bouts of anger between the two of them, but never had he really let it all out. _"I wonder what it feels like," he mused. _

On the way home from the ramen shop, Naruto was in a much better mood now that he had food in his stomach. Even the adults appeared not to glare at him as hard as they usually did. To top it off, Konohamaru and his friends had not even attempted to get him to play with them. He thought it cute that the three kids wanted to play with him so much, but after a while it annoyed him, especially when they came to him after he was exhausted from training.

Turning onto his street, Naruto was silently relishing the thought of gaining a few extra hours of sleep. If there were two things in life that he thoroughly enjoyed, it was sleep and ramen. As he was lost in his blissful thoughts, he barely heard a voice.

_"Why didn't you listen to what I said back there, boy?"_ rumbled the voice.

"What! Who's there? Who said that?" yelled out Naruto turning around to see who was behind him. Nobody was around. He was the only person visible on the street. If nobody was around, then where was the voice coming from?

_"I think you already know the answer to that question,"_ continued the voice in its usual growl.

Letting out an audible gasp, Naruto dashed into his house, slammed the door shut, triple locked it, and leaned against the door panting ever so slightly. _"What kind of genjutsu is this?"_ wondered the young nin.

_"You really are thick, you know that?"_

Although possessing a formidable stamina and resistance, nature was not so kind to Naruto in the intellect department. It took him a full minute to realize that genjutsu was not being used, and another minute to realize who was talking to him. 

_"Are…are you, K…Kyubi?" _Naruto stammered, even in his thought.

_"Very good, I knew you weren't a hopeless case,"_ replied the Nine-tails demon with more than a hint of sarcasm.

_"How is it you're in my head?"_  he asked curiously.

The demon let out a mental sigh, _"Of all the newborn in Konoha, I had to be sealed in a ramen-obsessed fool. It could have been an Uchiha, or a Hyuga, but no. Sometimes life is exceedingly cruel."_

_"H…Hey!__ Instead of insulting me, why don't you tell me what you want."  The sudden arrival of the Nine-tails' presence somewhat scared Naruto. __"Did the seal break or something?" he thought to himself._

_"Sadly, the seal is still as strong as ever, but that is of no matter."_

_"What! How did you do that? Can you read my mind?!"_ yelled out the confused genin in his mind.

Another sigh._ "Maybe I'm just wasting my time," the demon thought more to himself than for Naruto, __"My spirit is sealed within your body, therefore adding not only my chakra to yours, but my thoughts are now your thoughts, and vice versa. We cannot hide anything from each other."_

_"What?!__ Then how come I couldn't hear your thoughts these past years?"_

_"Mostly because you were too thick to notice me,"_ snickered Kyubi, _"Now, although my body was destroyed, I still possess my…considerable knowledge."_

_"Whoa! So do you know, like, a bunch of really cool jutsus?"_

_"You really do have a one-track mind. I know all manner of jutsus and genjutsus. I have also assimilated every technique your fellow village members used against me when they tried to stop me. I could even teach you the sealing jutsu that your Fourth Hokage used against me,"_ the demon finished with a mental grin.

_"Whoa…!"_  The thought of so many jutsus at his disposal boggled Naruto's mind. Maybe Sakura would start liking him, though that was a far cry.

_"Since you are my host, I naturally don't want anything to happen to you, so therefore you become strong, just like you dreamed, and at the same time you protect me."_

_"Hai, Hai. Sounds good to me."_

_"Excellent. However, if I am to train you, I expect complete obedience from you as is due to a sensei. Anything less and the deal is over."_

_"Right, right.__ So what are we going to do now? Train?"_ Naruto asked gleefully.

_"I knew you were going to say that. Alright, as you know you have an immense amount of chakra, too much for your body to control properly as it is. There are two solutions to this problem: either you spend an exorbitant amount of time refining your control, or the shorter, but harder, solution is to train your body to be able to handle the chakra. I prefer the latter myself."_

_"Yea!__ Me too…but what should I do?" asked the blonde ninja a bit too enthusiastically, which earned him another sigh._

_"Well right now you're going to run ten laps around the village."_

_"What! TEN LAPS?! Are you crazy?"_ yelled out Naruto in his mind.

_"Remember…complete obedience,"_ grumbled the demon.

_"I mean, Hai, right away!"_

Already, an hour had gone by and Naruto was only on his fourth lap around the village. His clothes were all but soaked through with his sweat and he still was not allowed to get a drink of water. After he completed his second lap, the demon decided he was to do one hundred pushups and sit-ups at each gate as well. This exercise was by far the most tiring training he had undergone yet. By the sixth lap, the gate guards were placing bets on how many times he was going to circle the village. At the seventh, Naruto's steps became more and more unbalanced and irregular. The thought that he might very well collapse from exhaustion was now very real. _"I can't go on anymore,"_ he said to himself.

_"Do you want to appear weak in front of everyone, boy?"_ demanded the fox demon.

_"No, of course not, but I really am too tired,"_ replied Naruto.

_"Boy, this isn't just about you training yourself; it's also about proving to _them_ what you are capable of."_

_"Uhh, yea.__ I guess."_

_"You've seen them as they look at you: they hate you, and no doubt you hate them too."_

Naruto did not understand why the demon brought it up. He knew all too well that the village adults, and the children too, hated him for the Nine-tails sealed inside of him. Why did they hate him so? It was so unfair. He never liked thinking about his situation, but it was too late. The demon had already struck a sensitive nerve and his anger was beginning to rise.

_"Yes, that's it, give in to your anger, only then can you be truly strong."_

The demon was right. Already as a child, he had developed a hate for the adults who regarded him as "the Nine-tails boy." His desire to achieve the Hokage title was merely a direct result of his desperate need for love, but nobody was there to provide it for him. It was all he could do not to bellow with rage as he pressed on with his training.

As he finished his last sit-up, Naruto dropped his head to the ground, not caring about hurting himself, and gazed up at the sky. He did not realize it was so late. It was almost pitch black but at least the stars were shining brightly. It was the first time he was actually doing nothing but looking at stars and he wished he had done it more often. The peacefulness was rather enjoyable. He could not stay in the outskirts of the village for the whole night though; he needed to get back to his house so he could properly rest after such a grueling work out. Standing up proved to be a lot harder than he thought at first. Every muscle in his body was aching. _"Ugh, it hurts even to breathe," he thought to himself._

Walking back to his house was even more difficult as he could barely even keep standing. Many times he had to pause to catch his breath as well as support himself by leaning on a tree. After many pauses, Naruto finally arrived in front of his house. Once inside, he made his way to the bed, but as he was about to lie down on it the demon spoke up, _"No, not on the bed. You must sleep on the floor during the training."_  Too tired to argue, the boy simply let out a groan and dropped himself down onto the floor. Within minutes he was sound asleep.


	2. Training

Author's notes: Thanks for the reviews guys. I want to clarify something from the first chapter: When Kakashi said he needed to prepare the mission, it's for a whole week. That way, Naruto has time to train his body adequately. Somebody asked, in a review, if I was going to have a Sasuke/Sakura relationship. At first, I didn't want it, but now that I think about it, it might be a good addition. I'm not promising anything though.

_"Finally awake, eh? You really do need to learn how to control how much time you sleep."_ Naruto awoke to the demon's voice inside his head. It was not the most pleasant of experiences, but he had worst.

_"Ugh, how is that even possible?"_ asked Naruto, sounding sleepy, even in his mind.

_"You will learn in due time. Now, I expect that you can barely move your body without it hurting, right?"_ The demon was right. Even the slightest contraction of his worn out muscles sent searing pains throughout his limbs. Not even his rapid healing had repaired his muscles from the previous day's grueling workout. 

_"I suppose this is an appropriate time to teach you your first healing technique,"_ announced Kyubi.

_"Oh cool! Is it gonna be, like, instant regeneration or something like Tsunade-sama's technique? Oh man, that was cool as hell!"_ rattled the blonde genin, momentarily forgetting about his sore muscles.

_"Not at all.__ Now pay attention. This technique requires extreme concentration, so get into the lotus position."_

Naruto's muscles vigorously protested as they were placed in a most uncomfortable position. He harbored his own thoughts about the effectiveness of the lotus position in facilitating meditation but he obeyed the Nine-tails without a word.

_"Now, the technique works by flowing your chakra through your whole body; starting from your head, down to your toes. It will not be easy because your chakra control is not precise."_

_"How do I know if I'm doing it right?"_

_"Try thinking of your chakra as warm.__ That should put you on the right track. Otherwise, the rest is up to you."_

"Alright! I'm gonna do this!" declared the ninja to no one in particular.

It was easier said than done, of course. After concentrating for a few minutes, the young genin concentrated some chakra in his head. _"Gotta think warm,"_ he reminded himself. The only problem was, as soon as he started flowing the chakra down his neck, the energy in his head would disperse. He tried again, but still it dispersed. _"Man, this is harder than I thought it would be."_

Several attempts later, Naruto had successfully gathered chakra all the way to his lower chest. The fox had not told him of the crucial trick to complete the technique. After several failures, he realized that the chakra needed to be anchored to his body. Perfecting this trick had frustrated him to no end. At one point, he nearly gave up, but the demon reminded him,"_Save your anger for another time, for when you really need it."  Kyubi was right of course, angering himself over something so small was useless. Instead he redoubled his efforts and to his surprise, he succeeded without too much trouble._

Filling the rest of his body with chakra was no longer a losing battle. Once his body was filled, he realized he did not know what to do now. With all the energy charged up in his body, the only sensible thing to do was releasing it. Expelling the chakra from his feet, Naruto noticed his body stopped hurting, as if he were pushing out the pain through his feet. "Whoa! I feel great!" he exclaimed.

_"Very good,"_ rumbled the demon, _"I never expected you to grasp the anchoring concept that quickly…there might be hope yet for you."_

As Naruto stood up from his meditating position, his grin was as large as ever until Kyubi announced, _"Now, run twelve laps around the village with one hundred and twenty pushups and sit-ups at each gate."_

"What! Already? I just got healed!" the blonde ninja yelled out loud. The demon simply ignored it. He figured that Naruto was Naruto and his complaining would never cease.

The twelve laps around the village did not take as long a time to finish as the previous day but he was still drenched in sweat, and he could barely stand up. On top of that, as he finished his eleventh lap, his feet tripped on themselves from exhaustion and he fell face first on the ground. Thankfully, he still had stamina to get back up and continue running. Despite his accidents, Naruto still felt good about himself. He always did after training.

_"Now would be an excellent time to use that healing technique I taught you,"_ suggested the demon.

_"Hai, hai,"_ responded Naruto.

This time around, the young genin completed the technique a full ten minutes quicker than the first time he had attempted it. Gathering, and then flowing out the chakra was still a lengthy and precise process, though. "Waaaa! I feel great! This technique is really amazing!" Naruto shouted in amazement.

_"Instead of standing there like a fool, I suggest you take a shower before eating lunch,"_ growled the demon in response.

_"Hey, hey.__ Cheer up, you always seem to be in a bad mood."_

_"Remaining sealed within your body for  twelve years would make anybody bitter and cynical."_

_"Whatever you say, sensei,"_ replied the boy with a mental chuckle.

Since he was no longer exhausted from his run, Naruto did not have to worry about collapsing while walking towards his house. Instead, he placed his hands behind his head casually strolled back along the way. On his way, he passed a few genins. They all stared at his sweat drenched clothes, wondering what he had been doing for him to be so drenched. Naruto simply grinned in his customary manner, if only they knew.

After drying himself off from his shower, Naruto ransacked his house in search of something edible to eat, but he had finished the last of his food the very morning. It looked like another ramen meal at the stand, not that he was complaining of course, but his monthly allowance was running short. Oh well, another meal will not hurt him. Besides, the owner gives him a frequent customer discount anyway.

On his way to the stand, he could have sworn he saw Sasuke and Sakura talking. Most likely she was trying to persuade him to go on a date with her. Like that was going to happen. The thought made Naruto chuckle a bit to himself. The little triangle that team seven had going on for a while always made him laugh. To think back now at how he acted, he could tell how far he had come since Kakashi made them genins. He was foolish enough to think his desire to go out with Sakura was as strong as his dream to become Hokage. _"Hehe, what a fool I was."_

_"You still are,"_ snickered the demon at him.

_"Bah, who asked you?"_ demanded Naruto, slightly irked. Only another mental snicker answered his question. He was beginning to think that the Nine-tails fox was starting to act like him, heaven forbid. 

"Oy, Naruto," said the ramen stand owner as he placed a steaming hot bowl on the counter, "Still training hard?"

"Haha, of course I am! I need to become stronger if I'm to become Hokage!" replied the young ninja with his usual gusto.

Midway through his meal, the demon unexpectedly spoke up,_ "Hrm, it appears as though you're being watched."_

_"Huh? How do you know that?"_ Naruto demanded.

_"Concentrate on the different chakra sources in the immediate vicinity. Notice how all of them are moving, except one."_

_"Oh yea, you're right."_

The blonde genin slowly turned around as if he were stretching and stole a quick glance in the direction of the motionless chakra. There was no mistaking the person, it was Inuzuka Kiba, the genin he had defeated in his preliminary match during the Chuunin selection exam. It occurred to Naruto that today was not the only time he was being watched. Several other times in the past, he felt as if somebody was watching him. _"What the hell does he want with me?"_ he wondered to himself.

_"Most likely a second chance to fight you again,"_ replied the demon with indifference.

_"Heh, I'll just beat him again, like I did back then."_

Meanwhile, Kiba was silently observing Naruto from the shadows of an alley. For a moment, he thought he had been spotted, but the other genin was merely stretching himself. Akamaru softly barked at him: somebody was coming. As Kiba turned around, he saw it was only Hyuga Hinata, his teammate. 

"K…Kiba-kun, Kurenai-sensei sent me to tell you that we have another mission," said Hinata in her soft voice.

"Eh, I'll be there soon," Kiba replied without taking his eyes off of his target.

"Oh, you're watching Naruto-kun again, aren't you?"

The boy simply nodded. He silently grimaced at his teammate's sudden change in attitude. There was no mistaking the tenderness in her voice as she spoke the name. He had only recently discovered Hinata's feeling towards Naruto. It shocked him when he first found out, and he had felt a slight twinge of jealousy. As far as he knew, no girl had ever liked him.

"Hai," he answered, not even offering an explanation. He could feel her eyes on his back, and was glad when she finally left him. _"I'm going to figure out how you became so strong, Naruto,"_ Kiba promised to himself.

After his meal, Kyubi ordered him to, once again, go outside of the village for some more training. It seemed the demon liked the surroundings of the forest. He hoped that this afternoon's training would not turn into another endurance exercise like in the morning.

_"Before we begin, use your Kage Bunshin and create a clone,"_ ordered the demon fox.

Simple enough, Naruto had been using the jutsu for months now, it was like second nature to him. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he said as an exact copy of himself appeared next to him.

_"You notice how close the clone is to yourself."_

_"Well…yea. Isn't that normal?"_

_"Of course it is, but tactically it doesn't present you with the full advantage of shadow clones. You're going to work on creating single clones as far away from yourself as possible."_

_"Alright…How do I do that?"_

_"The only hint I'll give you is this: right now, you're probably focusing your chakra around you. Focus your chakra away for you in a set direction,"_ stated the demon.

Easier said than done, of course. After an hour, the farthest he was able to create a clone was five meters and even that required immense concentration on his part. He needed a break to rethink his approach. This training was almost as exhausting as when he was learning the Rasengan. As he pondered a few thoughts, he felt something on his forehead: it was a leaf. Memories of his training with Jiraiya-sama came back to him in a flash. He had focuses so much chakra into destroying a ball that it blew him backwards several meters. It was so difficult to capture his chakra into a sphere.

Then it struck him: a sphere! _"Of course!__ Focusing the chakra into an orb will make it not disperse as much!"  realized the young ninja. In theory it sounded great, but putting it to practice was another story._

_"Ok, all I have to do is keep my chakra focused!"_ With that last thought in mind, Naruto placed his hands in the seal. He could almost feel his chakra slipping around his constraints. Slowly he forced his energy farther away from him. At the five meter mark, he felt he could keep on going: six, seven, eight, nine meters before he felt the chakra start to slip around. Ten, eleven meters and he was forced to create the clone. A whole six meter improvement! Naruto plopped down onto the ground, sighing with contentment.

_"Very good.__ You've managed to impress me once again. I never thought you would understand the concept so quickly."_ At the rare compliment the boy projected a mental grin.

_"With daily practice you will be able to create clones far away from you just as easily as right next to you. Now, there's still a few hours before sunset so keep practicing."_

_"Hai hai,"_ replied Naruto.


	3. A New Purpose

This time, Kyubi increased his warm-up to fourteen laps around the Konoha village and one hundred fourty pushups and sit-ups. Although it was only the third day, Naruto was getting used to constant exertion over long periods of time. This time, he did not even stumble on anything. On top of everything, his legs didn't feel as if they would simply fall from underneath him. 

Completing the healing technique required even less time than before. Although, he remembered what Kyubi told him when he first learned it,_ "At your level, it should take around twenty minutes. Eventually that time will be reduced, but it should never take less than ten minutes, otherwise it will not be complete."_ Not a chance of that ever happening though, it felt good flowing the chakra through his body. It sort of felt like a gentle rain, washing away the pain.

_"It appears as though we have a visitor,"_ projected the demon, interrupting Naruto's reverie in the process. The boy extended his senses, and sure enough, someone was in the immediate area, obviously wishing to stay hidden. It was fairly obvious who it was, even though he was not visible, yet.

"What are you doing here Kiba? And don't tell me you were walking Akamaru," Naruto said in a loud voice.

_"Damnit!__ How'd he find me,"_ thought Kiba with a gasp. Walking out into the opening, he could not help but wonder just how strong the other genin had become. Did he know all along? Or was he just toying with him. He was going to find that out right here and now.

He could feel Kiba approach from behind him. He still did not get up, or face him. It was best to remain sitting, to give the impression he knew no fear. Only when he was sure the walking had ceased did he get up on his feet and turn around with a giant grin on his face.

"So! Did you come back for another ass kicking?" asked Naruto in a loud and boisterous tone. _"That wasn't exactly the way I would have started things," interjected the demon._

"Very funny Naruto. How long have you known that I've been watching?" Kiba responded.

"Oh, like, since after the Chuunin exam, I think." Internally Kiba's mind was boggling. So he knew for a month that he was being spied upon and he did not do anything about it. Outwardly, though, he kept his cool.

"So then you know why I watch you,"

"Actually, I have no idea." Another grin.

"Quit playing the fool. There's no way you could have gotten strong enough to beat me, and especially that Neji kid without something special. I want to know what," growled the young Inuzuka.

"Hehe, I'll tell you what it was. Hardwork and dedication: two things every normal shinobi should have. But then again, you don't look like a normal shinobi," replied Naruto with a smirk, "Now, I gotta train some more." With that said, the blonde nin left Kiba standing there with an expression of anger and shock. 

The insult was as veiled as it was blatant. Either way, Naruto was going to pay for it.

_"If you were trying to make an enemy, that was very well done,"_ said the demon sarcastically.

_"Eh, his fault for spying on me."_

Excluding the confrontation with the other genin, Naruto's life was settling into a regular schedule, not that it was a bad thing to him. It did not really matter; soon Kakashi-sensei would present them with a C-rank mission, finally! He half-hoped that it would turn out into a B-rank just like the Wave Country mission, although that was almost disastrous.

Turning onto his street, Naruto paused in surprise. Standing near his house were Kiba, Shino, Chouji, and Ino. The latter two were walking towards him as if leaving the other two, but once they spotted him they quickly glanced at Kiba. Something was going on. Shino seemed to be talking to Kiba, but he did not look as if he were paying much attention.

_"What's going on here,"_ wondered Naruto as he walked towards his house.

_"It appears to be a fight,"_ announced the demon.

_"Whaaa!__ There's nobody fighting though!"_

_"You will see, I am right."_

"Crazy fox," he muttered under his breath. Still in his thoughts, Naruto stopped, surprised at Kiba who was yelling at him, "There you are! Don't expect to insult me and get away with it. You're going to pay."

"Huh? What are you talking about, baka. I'm not gonna fight you."

"After humiliating me, not once, but twice, I'm not going to let you go without teaching you a lesson."

"Eh, quit babbling, you're just wasting your time," Naruto said as he walked past Kiba.

With his back to his enemy, Naruto realized he might be in a little trouble. Fortunately, Kiba was too blinded by his anger to capitalize on such an advantage. It did not matter though.

"Don't run away from me! I'm not going to lose to a Dead-last!" yelled out the angry genin in frustration.

That last sentence stopped Naruto in his tracks. There was something about that name that just struck a nerve inside of him. His breathing shortened as it quickened. He could feel the adrenaline pouring into his body. It was no use fighting, but he did not want to lose it, not here.

_"It's no use fighting it. Let it flow through you, but don't let it take over,"_ said the demon.

He did not want to give in to his anger, but it felt so good. The power that always came with such heightened emotion was immense, almost as if he was made of purge energy. In these few moments he felt more alive than he ever had his whole life. 

The insult definitely had a visible affect on Naruto since he stopped walking. Kiba could not tell what was going on. From the looks of it, he was just standing there, at least for now. It was as if time had frozen, nobody was moving, they were all watching Naruto. The blonde genin's breathing was gradually quickening as well as more strained. Now he was starting to shake. At first it was slightly, but it was becoming more and more exaggerated. _"What is going," thought Kiba, __"I'm going to put an end to this." Before he could start, Naruto's body erupted with chakra into a dark red aura._

_"That's the same chakra feeling as during the Chuunin exam!"_ gasped Ino in shock.  Kiba, who had been unconscious when Naruto finished his fight, was still completely unaware of what had happened. The only thoughts in his mind were that he had most likely made a huge mistake, and that he should run away. It was too late though.

As Naruto turned around, his face looked strangely inhuman. It was the eyes. His pupils were so small, they were more like slits. Suddenly he spoke up, "Don't ever call me Dead-last." Although he said it quietly, there was no mistaking the menace in his voice. 

_"Did he copy my jutsu?"_ wondered Kiba. To him, Naruto looked strangely like an animal, not quite to the point of his own beast effect jutsu. As he placed his hands in a seal Naruto started speeding towards him. Before he could activate his jutsu in time, it was all over. He was doubled over Naruto's fist that was still pressing his stomach. The taste of blood was creeping into his mouth as he tried to breathe. The pain was intense.

Naruto moved his fist away from the other genin. He was not through with him yet. A quick kick to the stomach sent his opponent flying for several meters. This power within him was still too raw, he needed to control it.

Amazingly, Kiba was still able to stand up after those two hits, though shakily. _"It's time to end it," decided Naruto. He did not think he would be able to keep control over his emotions for very long. The temptation to completely give in was stronger than ever._

Yesterday's practice had served him well. He was so familiar with Kage Bunshin no jutsu that he hardly needed to concentrate. In a poof of smoke, two clones appeared on either side of Kiba and grabbed him in vice-like grips. Extending his hand, he started to gather his chakra inside the palm. At first it was a whirlwind of motion, but within a few seconds it was all focused into a glowing sphere of pure energy.

There was no hope of escape for Kiba. Even if he were not being held by two shadow clones he was too injured to dodge. Closing in fast, a wicked grin spread on Naruto's face in anticipation of crushing his opponent. But as he was mere inches away from Kiba, he caught a blur of movement on the outside of his field of vision. It was too late to react; he had already taken a kick to the ribs and was sent crashing into a tree with the Rasengan ripping the entire roots from the ground.

After getting up and dusting himself off, Naruto turned around to face his new attacker. It was Sasuke!

"Oy, baka. What were you trying to do? Kill him?" shouted Sasuke at him.

"N…No. But he started it!" responded the blonde genin, anger clearly gone.

"Pff, whatever. Kakashi-sensei sent me to tell you that our mission will be ready in four days."

"Yea, yea. Whatever. I don't need you to look out after me."

Although he did not see it, Chouji and Ino were breathing huge sighs of relief. They had never seen Naruto so angry before. He definitely looked like he was going to kill Kiba…and that technique; that was not the kind of skill a genin could learn.

_"Well, now that all the excitement is over we can get back to training. South-east of the village is a mountainous area. Go there once you are done cleaning yourself," _ordered Kyubi.

After a shower and some lunch, Naruto headed south-east and after about forty-five minutes of traveling, he arrived at the mountain ranges. 

_"Great, now what do I do?"_ inquired the boy.

_"Now, you climb the cliffs."_

_"Whaaat!"___

_"Without using your legs either, otherwise you won't be able to develop strength in your fingers, which is the whole purpose of this training."_

Grumbling still a bit more, the boy finally complied. How hard could it be after all? All he had to do was climb the rocks. As long as he paid attention to where he put his hands, he would do just fine. After all, it was just climbing rocks…without using his legs. It was doable.

_"Man, this is gonna suck,"_ grumbled Naruto to himself, and rightly so. After only an hour he was barely a fourth up on the smallest of rock formations. His fingers were trembling from the exertion and his upper-body muscles were burning. If only he could use his chakra; it would make things so much easier.

_"I already said, no chakra," _interjected the Nine-tails, _"Using some would defeat the entire purpose of this training. The taijutsu I will teach you is extremely advanced, and requires great muscle control in your body extremities. This taijutsu alone should put you on the same level as those arrogant Hyugas, let alone the jutsus you'll learn." _

_"Y…Yeah,"_ stammered Naruto, clearly too tired to hold a conversation. He was wondering how in the world to climb to the top of the rock he was hanging off of.

_"There is much hate, and resentment in you; I can feel it. Instead of bottling it up and wasting it, grasp it. The villagers hate you for what you have sealed up inside of you – me. The children disregard you because of your once poor grades."_

_"God damnit!__ Why do you keep bringing that up?"_

_"Because you try to forget it all, instead of looking at reality.__ Don't fool yourself into thinking it's something different. Your sole reason of existence is to bear the hate of the village, but from now on it's different! From now on, your purpose is to prove to everyone who you are and what you are capable of."_

Fueled by the demon's speech, Naruto found strength in his anger towards the village. Inch by inch he forced his hands to move to higher handholds. Though despite the odd inspiration, the feelings within him raged against each other. Was the demon right? After all, there was still Iruka-sensei who bought him ramen every now and then. Still, Kyubi had killed his parents; his acts of kindness could merely be attempts to satisfy his guilt. Naruto sighed at this thought. Life was exceedingly cruel sometimes.


	4. The Mission

Every day, it seemed his warm-up became harder and harder. Instead of regular pushups, the demon ordered him to support himself by his fingers. Aside from this slight change, Naruto's daily schedule remained the same throughout the week except for after his usual warm-up he continued training his Kage Bunshin no jutsu. By the end of the week, he could climb most of the rocks without tiring the slightest. It was about time too! Today was when they would finally learn about the C-rank mission Kakashi-sensei had told them about.

Standing at their usual meeting place Naruto frowned to himself: nobody was there yet besides him. Even he was a few minutes late. _"This is just ridiculous,"_ he grumbled. If he knew any better he would say Sakura was with Sasuke as she usually tried to sneak in free moments with him. It made him wonder, if they were together so often, why did they simply not become a couple?

"Sasuke! After the mission do you want to go out to eat?" Naruto did not even have to turn around to know who was coming up behind him.

"No," answered another voice with indifference. _"I guess that answers my question," chuckled the blonde genin to himself._

Although usually he would have offered a loud greeting, this time he preferred not to, there was no point. "You're late," he said simply.

_"Huh? What's with Naruto?"_ wondered Sakura. Aloud she exclaimed "Naruto! Where have you been this past week?" I was looking all over for you!"

"Yea right, you were with Sasuke the whole time." Before she could reply he continued, "Save it, Kakashi-sensei is here."

Sure enough, out of a whirl of smoke, the grey-haired jounin appeared with an apologetic grin on his face. "Ohayo, sorry I'm late. I forgot my book at home," he offered to his students.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was staring at Naruto with a little curiosity. _"How did he know Kakashi-sensei was coming?" he wondered._

"Well, we might as well get started now, we have a ways to go." 

"Oy, Kakashi-sensei, where are we going though?" asked Naruto.

"Oh, we're going to the Lightning Country, to the Hidden Cloud Village. Tsunade-sama wants us to retrieve a scroll from their village."

"You mean we're going to steal it?"

"Of course not, now lets get going, I'll explain it on the way."

Once they packed all the gear they would need for their mission they finally set off towards the Lightning Country. On the way Kakashi finally settled his students's curiosity. Apparently, during the Hidden Leaf - Hidden Cloud war, the Third Hokage offered an ancient scroll as part of the treaty agreement; that was roughly ten years ago. Their current leader had recently passed away and their village council decided that the scroll was no longer needed in the village. Therefore, as an act of goodwill they were allowing a team from the Leaf to take it back. 

What Kakashi failed to mention was the rebellious faction which split from the village. The rebel Clouds felt that the leader chosen was not the best choice, so approximately half of the ninjas left and ultimately became Missing-nins.  Kakashi was more than certain they were going to be ambushed on the way back but there was no avoiding it. He figured a regular four man team had a better chance of slipping away than a larger escort, and besides, a larger escort would definitely attract more attention. With his current team, they would be underestimated. Perhaps they would send two jounins to take care of himself but most likely only genins for his students. If they were desperate they would send some chuunins, but with the rebels in their current status, they were hard pressed for experienced ninjas.

Still, sending genins against his students would most likely be their mistake. Naruto's growth, especially, was almost frightening. From the scared boy who froze in the face of his first real threat to his life, to the aftermath of the Chuunin Selection Exam. _"He's probably the strongest genin the Leaf has seen in a while,"_ he thought to himself. Sasuke himself was not too far behind his teammate. His mastery of the Sharingan was improving daily but not nearly as fast as Naruto was improving. Sakura was coming along quite well too; she would soon be ready for him to teach her some new jutsus. He could sense an affinity for earth type skills within her.

The team was making excellent progress on their journey, but the Hidden Cloud village was a lot farther than the Wave Country. The distance between their starting point and their destination was basically a two and a half day journey; so for two nights they were forced to camp somewhere along the road. It really was not that bad, it still had not rained yet. At any rate, on the third day, they finally arrived at the gates of their destination.

"Hey, hey, Kakashi-sensei, why do they call this 'Lightning Country'?" Naruto asked enthusiastically.

"Oh, well. It has something to do with somebody who did something way back and they named the country after him," replied the jounin distractedly.

"Huh? How much more vague can you get?"

Meanwhile, Kakashi was busily trying to find the three visas that would allow them to enter the village. After nearly emptying his pockets he finally fished out the three documents and the gate-guards ushered them through.

"Well, you guys go look around while I take care of the business." Turning around he added, "By the way, try not to stand out. We may be at peace with them but that doesn't mean that they like us." With that said he continued towards the main administration building.

The three genins took the opportunity to explore the strange village. Surprisingly, it was quite similar to their own. "Wow! There's a ramen stand! I'll see you guys later," shouted Naruto over his shoulder as he ran towards the stand.

"What a moron, always interested in food," muttered Sasuke.

Exploring the village was not as exciting as they had hoped it would be. It really was just like the Leaf village, except there did seem to be as many inhabitants. Walking around proved to be quite boring and they almost wished Naruto was around to liven things up.

In the mean time, Naruto finished his meal and began to wander around. _"Hmm, this place isn't very exciting,"_ he thought to himself. It seemed to him that for the size of the village either there were not many inhabitants, or they all preferred remaining indoors, even during good weather. Whatever the reason, he had no time to find out; ahead of him he found his team, obviously waiting for him.

"Ah, there you are Naruto," said Kakashi, "It's about time we left this place."

"Huh? What kind of a C-rank mission is this? We haven't done anything!" whined the blond-haired genin.

"You should be happy this is so easy, C-ranks pay much better than D-ranks. Now let's get going."

Trudging along in silence, Naruto was deep in thought. Kakashi had given him the scroll to carry. Finally he spoke up, "Oy, Kakashi-sensei. What's so important about this scroll?"

"Oh, well. It contains great secrets." His response only earned him a skeptical look from his student. "Hey, hey, even I don't know some things."

The journey home promised to be as event-less as their first one. The first day came and went without incidents, although Naruto did stub his toe on a rock. The second day appeared to be just as boring as the previous days – even Kyubi seemed bored.

_"It appears somebody is using some form of high level genjutsu around us,"_ stated the demon in his normal tone.

_"How do you know? I can't sense anything,"_ Naruto asked incredulously.

_"Unless you know what to look for it is completely undetectable to passive attempts."_

_"So what do I look for?"_

_"Mostly redundancies in the scenery; the genjutsu works by making your body look like a part of the terrain. That, and there's chakra residue that can be detected, but I don't think you're that advanced yet."_

_"Oy, then how did you find them?"_

_"Like I said, I know what to look for."_

Naruto pondered the demon's last thought for a moment. There was not much to do considering the circumstances. There could be only one possible explanation as to why several individuals were using high level genjutsu. Obviously they were after the scroll, the team had nothing else that could be considered of worth. Considering the level, there was no doubt that the concealed ninjas were at least chuunins, most likely one or two jounins. Still, the genjutsu brought him some comfort. Thinking back to the Selection Exam, he remembered the tactic the Hidden Mist ninjas used. Most likely his hidden opponents would be weak in close quarter combat; all his team had to do was get them into the open.

"You guys can come out now, I've already detected your presences," shouted Naruto.

"What! Naruto, stop trying to be cool…" but Sakura was interrupted by a voice coming from the trees.

"To think that a genin would be able to detect our genjutsu, most impressive." At that moment, eight masked ninjas bearing a Hidden Cloud forehead protector appeared strewn across the trees branches. "Still, if I were you I would hand over the scroll."

Naruto paused for a minute, the leader said that while looking straight at him – he knew he had the scroll. This definitely was not a good situation for him.

"Kakashi-sensei, who are these guys and why do they have Hidden Cloud forehead protectors?" asked Sasuke calmly.

"Well, they are part of a rebel group of Hidden Clouds who are trying to depose the current leader."

"Oy!" shouted one of the Cloud ninjas to his leader, "That's no ordinary jounin down there, that's Cop Ninja Kakashi! We weren't told we'd face the likes of him."

"Just shutup and do as your told," growled the leader in return.

_"Dissent within the group, an obvious advantage to exploit, though way too obvious.__ That exchange was most definitely staged," rumbled the demon._

_"What makes you so sure?"_ demanded Naruto.

_"Common psychological warfare.__ Make your enemy believe you are weaker and then have somebody just as powerful or more powerful attack. In this case, there will only be one jounin to attack you."_

_"Huh, can't Kakashi-sensei stop them?"_

_"Your sensei would be too busy fighting two people at the same time, leaving you and your other teammates to fight a group of six with a jounin hidden within."_

_"Outnumbered two to one, with a jounin added into the mix – just the way I like it."_

_"Quite so, although if you ask me this group is not particularly bright.__ First they fail  their jutsu, now the obvious staging. My guess is, the hidden jounin is the fellow who called your sensei by his nickname."_

"Hey!" Naruto shouted to the other ninjas in defiance, "If you want your precious scroll, then come and get it!" His seemingly brave front only earned him a groan from his sensei and a mumbled insult from Sasuke. Sakura, on the other hand, looked about ready to kill him.

"You've got guts kid, I like that. It's too bad I have to kill you for it," replied the leader with a smirk.

"Bring it on," the blonde genin replied with a smirk of his own.

Naruto had obviously committed a few errors in the past, but none were as gaping as taunting a group of three jounins and five chuunins. The Cloud ninjas needed no further urging to jump down from their perches and encircle team Seven. Thankfully, the ninja in front of Naruto did not appear to be one of the jounins. _"Alright then, I'll make an example of this one,"_ he chuckled to himself thinking back to his brush with Inuzaka Kiba.

Concentrating his chakra to his feet, Naruto leapt forward and planted his fist square in his opponents solar plexus. With a follow-up kick he sent the Cloud ninja sprawling back several feet. A quick hand seal and two shadow clones appeared on either side and grabbed a secure hold of his arms. Flowing chakra to his hand, Naruto created a whirlwind of energy in his palm. A little longer and it all focused into a sphere. Letting loose a battlecry, he rushed his opponent and unleashed the full power of his Rasengan. There was nothing to stop the ninja from flying head first into a tree, clearly dead even before impact – he did not even have the chance to react to Naruto's attack.

The young genin looked down at his hands; it was his first real kill. _"So this is what it feels like…"_ he reflected, _"Such power, the ability to take another man's life with my own hands. I feel…alive!"_

Rounding on the rest of the rogue ninjas with a fire burning in his eyes, Naruto only uttered three words: "Don't underestimate me."


	5. Control

It was not an emotion he was used to experience. Whenever it happened he never knew what it was at first. During calmer periods, he reflected over his feelings and he would realize: it was jealousy. Such a strange concept for him to grasp, being envious of someone else. It was unthinkable. He was the top of his class, heir to the Uchiha clan, a Sharingan user, and he was heralded as a genius. So why did he desire the power of his teammate? The bottom of his class, loud, obnoxious, and stubborn to boot – all perfectly described Uzumaki Naruto. 

Jealousy was not a part of him, the only time he could remember being jealous was when Itachi came home one evening from his training and showed him his eyes. They contained three Sharingan wheels, proof of mastery. Even though he was barely out of the toddler stage, he was jealous of his brother. The Sharingan ability was difficult to use at its full power, to master it so young was nothing short of a miracle.

Now, he was feeling that same emotion towards that fool. In mere seconds he had killed at least a chuunin level ninja, not one to take lightly. If not for his ability, he would not have been able to follow. Naruto had used the same technique as against Kiba. The "Rasengan" was what Kakashi-sensei called it. At the time, he had not thought much about it; his own Chidori was more impressive anyway. Such underestimation was not typical of him, even with his skill, only a well placed hit would result in instant death. It seemed that Naruto had not even payed attention to where he struck his opponent…such power.

One time, when teasing his teammate, he told him to get stronger so he could beat him. He really did not expect for it to actually happen. _"Naruto…how could this happen? What happened with you?"_ boggled Sasuke in his mind. He hazarded a glance at Sakura. Her mouth was gaping in absolute shock and her kunai was slowly slipping out of her grasp – just as he expected. Even Sakura snidely considered herself more skilled than their teammate due to her outstanding grades in the academy. At the moment, though, there was no more time for shock, one of the Cloud ninjas had punched Naruto hard in the face. What ensued could only be described as frightening.

"Hehehehehehehe, how pathetic. Was that all you got?" cackled Naruto in a strange voice.

"Why you insolent brat, I'll make you taste pain like you've never experienced!" the Cloud ninja bellowed.

Straightening himself out and facing the ninja in front of him, Naruto put a smirk on his face, "Not like that you won't" he stated.

"Why you…!" yelled the ninja as he started to swing his fist again.

Nothing happened though. The fist was firmly nested into Naruto's left palm and was obviously not going anywhere.

"Gotcha," grinned the blonde genin.

Lightly placing his foot backwards, Naruto brought it up in a swift circular motion, connecting with the Cloud ninja's jaw sending him staggering back a few steps.

_"What is he doing?"_ wondered Kakashi, staring at his student with his one-eyed Sharingan. He did not have to worry about the two jounins in front of him because they were watching the boy as well. Even though he was able to sometimes predict the movements of other people, Naruto was entirely too spontaneous. It frustrated him sometimes, but now was no time or place to lecture himself for not taking care enough of the boy.

After kicking his opponent he leapt into the air. What was he doing? His body twisted not quite a half-circle. It was as if time had stopped and Naruto was frozen in mid-air. Was it really that? Or merely an optical illusion? Either way, the boy lashed out with foot, striking the neck of the Cloud ninja who crumpled at the contact.

All of team Seven gasped at once. _"That was no ordinary mikazuki geri," Kakashi realized. __"That had a Hyuga feel to it, but there was something else." He had heard, from those who watched the Hyuga Neji match, that Neji used some spinning kicks while in air. Also from his own eyes from observing Hyuga Hizashi and Hiashi train sometimes, there was definitely a similar feel. Kakashi had a feeling he would be seeing more of this type of technique in the future._

"Oy Sasuke," shouted Naruto shooting a glance at his teammate, "Better hurry up, it's already two – zero for me."

"Hmph, show-off," muttered Sasuke.

"He's something, that kid," said one of the jounins in front of Kakashi, "For him to take out two of us that quickly."

"Heh, you won't get the scroll from us," replied Kakashi with confidence, "Naruto isn't the only one who's strong. That black haired kid is an Uchiha; you're friends won't stand a chance against them."

"That would be true," replied the other Cloud ninja, "If we were the only jounins."

"What!" gasped Kakashi.

"That's right, one of our elite hunter-nin is somewhere in that group."

"Looks like the tables have turned," smirked the other ninja, "If you go to help your students, we'll kill you. If you do nothing, your students will die."

"Quite the predicament you're in."

Meanwhile, with his Sharingan activated, Sasuke had less trouble dealing with his opponents. One of them was a ninjutsu specialist and continually attacked him from a distance using some strange lightning-based jutsu. Even with the Sharingan, it was all he could do to avoid getting caught. A few more times of observing the technique and he saw an opening through the attacks. His Shishi Rendan was all he needed to knock out the Cloud chuunin. "So weak," he muttered at his unconscious opponent.

_"Damnit, I can't find the hidden jounin"_ complained Naruto.

_"I'll admit, he's concealing his identity well,"_ the demon conceded, _"At this point you have two options."_

_"Kill everybody 'till we find him."_

_"Or bait him into the open."_

_"Hrmm, I got an idea."_ Picking the scroll from his pouch he tossed it at his teammate, "Oy, Sakura! Catch!" Barely reacting in time, the scroll unceremoniously tumbled into Sakura's arms.

"Naruto! What are you doing, baka!" yelled out Sasuke who received a punch to the gut for his slight inattention.

"Naruto! Why the hell are you giving the scroll to me?!" demanded the pink-haired girl.

"Can't explain now Sakura-chan!" yelled out Naruto. _"Now we wait." _

Sure enough, the chuunin that was fighting Naruto disengaged and sped towards Sakura. _"If that's the sleeper, she won't stand a chance," he thought. There were only two left, besides the two that Kakashi was fighting. The Cloud ninja dodged a swipe from Sakura's kunai and snuck his arm through her guard. Instead of hitting her, he used her momentum to spin her around and pinched some vital areas around her neck, effectively knocking her out. As expected, he looted the scroll._

"So, you finally uncovered yourself," Naruto called out.

"Heh, with the scroll in my hands, our mission is now over," replied the sleeper.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that, might want to check your scroll." Reaching into his pouch, Naruto pulled out another scroll which looked exactly like the one held by the jounin.

"What! Ohhh, I see. You sneaky bastard. I guess I got carried away."

"Hehehe. I was bored last night so I made an exact copy of the scroll I was carrying."

"Impressive. To think that I, an elite hunter-nin would be tricked by a genin. I guess there's only one thing left for me to do," the Cloud ninja said, and then disappeared.

"Give me that," heard Naruto from behind him. It was too late though; the other ninja already snatched the scroll from his hands and promptly smashed his elbow into the back of Naruto's head.

Fortunately his incredible resilience helped him not to black out. Rubbing the back of his head scanned for the jounin but could not find him. No doubt he was using another genjutsu. _"Damnit, this is bad."_ Sasuke was still fighting one of them, Sakura was knocked out, and Kakashi was still fighting too, although he managed to defeat one of his opponents. Still, the whole purpose of the mission was to safely see the scroll back to Tsunade-sama, but that was not going to happen without the scroll. He was not going to find the sleeper, not with that genjutsu, and another trap would not work either. _"Ugh, what am I going to do? Kakashi-sensei is going to kill me!"_ he whined to himself.

_"There might be a way,"_ interjected the demon.

_"What!?__ How?"_

_"You still have a blank scroll with an ink and stylus right?"_

_"Yea, of course.__ Always got 'em around."_

_"Good. There's no time to lose. I will dictate to you a summoning contract between foxes."_

_"Huh? How do you know the contract for foxes?"_

_"Because I'm the spirit of a demon _fox_!__ You amaze me sometimes."_

_"Hai, hai.__ Alright, Alright. What's the contract?"_

Word by word, the demon dictated the contract to Naruto. Contracts were complex to create as precise words were needed for the specific animal. Thankfully the demon was already familiar with such minutia. When he was done, Naruto signed the scroll with his blood, and pressed his bloodied fingers onto it for his fingerprints.

_"Great! I'm done. Now what?"_

_"Excellent, now this is the skill your sensei once used, Doton Tsuiga no Jutsu, except you'll use foxes instead of dogs."_

_"Don't dogs have better noses?"_

_"A common misconception, but there's no time. You already know how to summon, but the chakra distribution is different because you have to summon several at once, and underground at that."_

_"Alright, how do I do it then?"_ Naruto asked excitedly.

_"I don't have time to teach you, you'll have to let me control the chakra myself."_

_"What! I can't let you do that!"_

_"If the host is willing, then it is possible."_

_"But it's my body, I can't just let you control part of it, even for just a little."_

_"Boy, there's no time for this, now give me control!"_

_"No way.__ Sensei or no, this is my body."_

_"You just lost the scroll you were supposed to protect, they're all going to blame you for its loss," _taunted Kyubi, trying to change tactics.

_"I can deal with that,"_ shrugged Naruto.

_"Do you want to look weak in front of the others? Do you want the Uchiha kid to surpass you again? Do you want Sakura to call you worthless?"_

_"What? No…but,"_

_"There are no buts!"_ snarled the demon, _"You have to act now, be a hero or remain the loser like they all see you as."_

_"F…Fine then, as long as it's just this once."_

_"Excellent, now perform the seal. Once I form the chakra for you, you'll remember it as if you did it."_

Biting his thumb, he spread the blood in a line on his palm and then performed the seals: boar, dog, bird, monkey, and sheep. Slamming his palm down on the ground, he could feel the demon flowing the chakra for him. It was a strange sensation; it felt like it was him, but he knew he was not the one doing it. As the jutsu progressed, he could see how complex it was and how much chakra it demanded. Suddenly he realized, how were the nin-foxes going to track down this guy anyway?

_"Don't worry about that,"_ said the demon, _"The scroll is old and releases a particular smell – the foxes won't miss it."_

With the jutsu complete, there was not much to do besides sit and wait. Both Kakashi and Sasuke had knocked out the remaining Cloud-nins. Sakura was stirring awake too; it looked like it was all over, except for the jounin who still had the scroll.

Walking toward his student, Kakashi saw Naruto with an open scroll at his feet. _"Could that be…" Taking a closer look, his suspicious were revealed. It was a summoning contract!_

"Oy, Naruto," started the grey-haired sensei, "What kind of a scroll is that?"

"Oh this thing?" Putting his hand behind his head, Naruto gave a nervous laugh, "Umm, it's a contract scroll between the foxes, hahaha."

"Oh, you can summon? Since when?"

"Umm, since Jiraiya-sama taught me before that exam."

But Kakashi knew that Naruto used Jiraiya's contract scroll between the toads when he taught him that technique. Developing contract scrolls were extremely complex and for a genin to write one on the spot was unheard of. How had Naruto gotten so strong and knowledgeable so quickly? Just being apprenticed to Jiraiya for a short amount of time was not enough for such growth. "So where's the fox you summoned?" Kakashi prodded further.

"Umm, well I summoned several of them."

"Oh? And where are they?"

Clearly embarrassed, Naruto fidgeted a little before answering, "Uhh, they're tracking the guy that stole the scroll from me underground."

"Underground?! You mean you used Doton Tsuiga no Jutsu?" Kakashi asked incredulously.

"Uhhh yea, hehehe," replied his student with a grin.

Suddenly, a shrill scream of pain ripped through the forest. "Looks like you caught something," he said with a wink.

With Kakashi in the lead, it was not long before the team of four fell upon the victim of the ruthless tracking skill. Several impressive sized nin-foxes with leaf forehead protectors biting down hard on the Cloud ninja. Obviously he had never experienced such a skill before, the look of pure terror was clear on his face.

"Oh, Kakashi-sensei, did you summon these creatures?" asked Sasuke.

"Haha, nope. It was Naruto here who did that," he said clapping his student on the back.

Grabbing the scroll from the restrained Cloud-nin, Kakashi said, "I don't even need to ask what your purpose was, or for who you worked for. Your entire team has been decimated. After we leave, the jutsu will be released and I suggest you gather up those who are still alive and go back to your rebel group." 

Turning to his team he said, "Well, now that this is over with, how about we head home?"

Flashing his trademark grin Naruto replied, "Hehe, sounds good to me!"

Author's Notes: Doton Tsuiga no Jutsu translates to Earth Type: Tracking Fang skill, which is the same skill Kakashi used against Zabuza at the end of their second fight when he summoned all those nin-dogs from the ground.

Oh yea, we finally get a glimpse at Naruto's new taijutsu style. Mikazuki geri means crescent kick, it's a variant on the mawashi geri (which is your basic roundhouse) where instead the foot circles over the head/shoulders area and strikes at the neck. Of course, Naruto being so small he had to jump.


	6. New Jutsu

Getting out of bed always was a grueling affair with nobody around to force him. Sometimes, after turning off his alarm clock, he would just relax his head back onto the pillow and stare out the window next to his bed. There was something about a cloudless sky that captivated him, the sheer vastness of it was enough to humble any man.

It was one of those days where he did not want to wake up. After silencing the awful ringing of his clock, he collapsed back onto his bed and pulled up the covers. Except, today was different: he had somebody there to force him out.

_"It's high time we started training again,"_ grumbled the demon, _"I wouldn't be surprised if that annoying girl surpassed you this time." As if to accentuate the veiled insult, Kyubi projected a humorous image of Naruto lying unconscious at Sakura's feet._

Sliding his feet from under the covers, Naruto ignored the jest, _"Man, it's all work and no play around you isn't it?"_

_"You had that run-in with those shinobis two days ago."_

_"I hardly call being ambushed by a group of elite Cloud shinobis fun,"_ retorted Naruto, stifling a yawn.

_"But you enjoyed it nonetheless, admit it."_

The demon had a point there. Fighting those Cloud-nins had given him a rush, and not just from the adrenaline. It was completely different from his normal mindframe, like a state of heightened awareness. Nothing mattered anymore except for him, and his enemy.

_"Yea,"_ he admitted grudgingly.

_"On a more serious note, you better hurry up and warm-up or you really will become inferior to Sasuke."_

_"Not likely with Sakura always hanging around him. I heard he actually changed his mind and is going to eat lunch with her."_

_"So he finally broke down,"_ smirked Kyubi, _"Not surprising, with a persistent girl such as herself. I'll wager even that Morino Ibiki fellow would break under such torture." _

_"Is that a sense of humor you got there? You better watch out, you're starting to act like me."_

_"Heaven forbid."_

Running twenty laps around the village on his fingers proved a more difficult task than before the mission. Naruto tried explaining to the demon that it was not his fault the mission interrupted his training, but he would not have any of it. As a result, Naruto was sweating more than he was used to. Surprisingly, his fingers were holding up quite well, thanks to a special exercise Kyubi taught him during the mission.

To him, the training was all very well, but something nagged at the back of his mind. It had been there since the Nine-tails actually surfaced into his consciousness. There was no use denying it, today he would confront him about it.

_"Remind me again what's so important about the fingers?"_ Naruto asked curiously.

A mental sigh. _"Remember what that eccentric sensei said about his and the Hyuga taijutsu style?"_

_"Yea, of course.__ Tekken-fu and Jyuken-fu. So what's the relationship?"_

_"This is a combination of both."_

A combination of Lee-kun and the Hyuga taijutsu? How exciting! To think he would finally be able to match those two move for move instead of relying on his Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. The possibilities were endless! Sasuke would finally acknowledge him and maybe Hinata-chan would smile at him again in that weird way. Where had that come from? He had not seen her in a long while, why was he thinking about her right now?

_"Are you listening to me boy?"_ without waiting for an answer the demon continued, _"No of course not, I know exactly what you are thinking."_

_"Hehe, whoops,"_ Naruto said blushing both physically and mentally.

_"As I was saying, open-fist combat styles are more effective than closed-fist style."_

_"Why is that?"_

_"Two reasons. One, open fists offer the same advantage as closed fists, and two, it is also more graceful."_

_"So you're going for style over effictiveness,"_ snickered Naruto at the thought.

_"Remember this boy, it is easier to kill a man with two open fingers, than with five closed ones."_

_"What?!__ How does that work? Maybe if you crushed the windpipe…"_

_"Using two fingers, you apply the same force over a much smaller area of contact, whereas with a fist, the force is more dispersed, thus losing its full effect."_

_"I guess that makes sense."_

_ "Of course it does. Now that you're done, you better do that healing technique, we're going to Practice Area #44 afterwards."_

Naruto audibly gulped at the last thought. Practice Area Forty-Four was where the second stage of the Chuunin Selection Exam took place. It was much more commonly known as the Forest of Death. On top of that, he still had some bad memories about what took place there: swallowed whole by a giant snake, that five-part seal, and seeing Ino and Sakura as friends again were not events he wanted to see again any time soon.

Standing in front of the massive fence, Naruto was harboring second thoughts about training. The perpetually dark forest appeared even more foreboding than it had a month ago, or was it just his imagination?

_"So…uhhh, how do we get in there?"_ Naruto thought nervously. All the gates surrounding the massive practice area were locked.

_"Just when I think I have you figured out, you surprise me even more,"_ sighed the demon, _"Try climbing it."_

So with a deep breath, the orange-clad genin gritted his teeth and started to climb the wire fence. It really was not as bad as he thought it would be, although the wire metal wire cut a little into his fingers, and there were no real footholds. That was alright though, his arms had seen worse in his previous training.

Once on the other side, Naruto could not help but wonder what the point of coming to his area in particular for.

_"How long are we going to stay in here anyway?"_ he inquired.

_"About a week, I'd wager."_

_"Man, that's so long. But what about Kakashi-sensei and everybody else? What if there's a mission?"_

_"I'm sure they'll survive without you just fine."_

_"Well, whatever you say."_

Walking deeper into the darkness, Kyubi explained a little more about the nature of his training. _"It's the second phase of developing your stamina and strength," he stated, _"Basically, this is going to be on a completely different level."__

_"Great,"_ thought Naruto to himself, _"It's like he really wants to kill me."_

_"Here is a good place to stop – by the way I heard that."_

In front of the blonde-haired boy stood a massive tree dominating the entire clearing of the forest. Its diameter was at least several times his own size. There were no branches except near the top, and those were extremely thick as well. The clearing itself was not much to talk about either. Several bushes grew across the ground in a strange shape.

_"Now, climb that tree,"_ ordered the demon.

Sliding his hand across the weather-smoothed bark, Naruto realized it would be impossible to maintain a grip on it. _"How do you expect me to do that without handholds?"_ he asked.

_"Well, there are two ways you can climb a tree: either make do with what you have, or you can make your own handholds,"_ was the reply with what Naruto could have sworn was a mental wink.

"Make your own handholds…" he muttered to himself. Running his hand over the trunk once again he wondered how that was possible. Probing for weak points was useless, it was still a healthy tree. _"Maybe if I used a kunai,"_ he thought about that for a second then rejected the idea. That most likely was not the point of the exercise. Developing finger strength seemed to be important in this training…surely Kyubi was not serious.

Realizing the inevitable, Naruto drew a large breath and exhaled slowly. Pulling his arm  back, he closed his eyes and clamped his mouth shut in preparation of what was about to happen. With his hand in the shape of a claw, he stabbed his arm as fast as he could into the tree just like he saw his sensei, Kakashi, do it when using the Chidori.

Pain shot through his fingertips as his hand almost collapsed from the pressure. Determined not to shout out, Naruto grimaced and let the pain wash over him. Opening his eyes, he found his fingers slightly buried in the wood, though not enough for an adequate hold. _"And I have to do this until the top? This is gonna suck."_

_"How else do you expect to become strong?"_ smirked the demon.

_"Hmph, you aren't the one breaking your hand."_

Using his other hand, the genin rammed it into the same spot, this time creating a large enough hold. Hoisting himself up a little, he quickly realized that the awkward position he was in would drastically lower the amount of strength he could put into each hit. _"Ugh, you bastard," Naruto projected, _"You knew this would happen. You set it up specifically so I would fall."__

_"Aye, what better way to build up your pain threshold than this?"_

_"Sadist."_ The fox was right though; he would emerge much stronger, if he could survive. Falling down from that high could be fatal.

Over the next few hours, and several bruises later , Naruto struggled to climb higher on the tree, but it was proving much more difficult, just like he anticipated. More than a few times he lost his grip and fell with a thud to the ground. Unlike his training for the Rasengan, this kind of training had nothing to do with chakra. His fingers were riddled with small splinters and the skin was raw. Still he pressed on.

It was soon starting to get dark; taking a break he leaned against the tree and gazed up towards the sky. He could see all the marks he made on the trunk going up three quarters of the way until the first branch. Near the end, he started to get the hang of it. It was not so bad – stab, hoist, and repeat. Still, he had taken a large amount of falls, each one higher than the other. Suddenly, a growl from his stomach reminded him he had not eaten anything since noon, or six hours ago.

_"Man, my stomach's killing me, I need to eat,"_ Naruto grumbled.

_"Well, isn't there a river in this area?"_ replied the demon.

_"Yea, its off to the east."_

_"Your fishing abilities should be sufficient to catch a few fish, I think."_

With a shrug Naruto set off towards the same river where him and his team rested at during the Selection exam. Having spent two days in order to rest, he was familiar with the terrain. After arriving at the river, he realized there was a slight problem: he was alone this time. Catching fish was going to be more difficult.

Wading into a knee-deep area kunai in hand, Naruto stood as still as possible waiting for some fish to swim by. His patience was rewarded as a fat specimen lazily swam by his legs. Carefully taking aim, he deftly threw his kunai…and missed! _"Shit, how did I miss that throw?" he wondered in disbelief._

_"Have you forgotten about light refraction?"_

_"Yea, yea.__ It's dark, I can't see very well."_

_"If you aim a little to the right, you should be able to hit one."_

Slightly skeptical, Naruto again stood waiting for an unsuspecting fish. Lady Luck seemed to be with him that day for after a few minutes, another decent sized fish swam up the river in search of less turbulent waters. _"Calm…relaxed…" Naruto repeated to himself _"…and strike!"_ Taking the demon's advice to heart, he aimed a little towards the right and was rewarded with the feeling of his kunai piercing the soft fish flesh._

Brandishing his kill like a prize, Naruto started to think this training might not be so bad. All he had to do now was cook the fish. _"No matches…Great, how am I supposed to cook it?"_ complained the genin.

_"If the fire won't come to you, then you go to the fire,"_ intoned Kyubi.

_"What kind of a stupid quote is that? That doesn't help!"_

_"Simply put, use a fire type jutsu."_

_"Oh ok,"_ started Naruto sarcastically, _"I'll just use my ultra-secret katon jutsu that even I don't know about."_

_"Before you get saucy with me, let me finish explaining. All fire-type jutsus begin with the horse and end with the tiger seals. Aside from that, think hot."_ Another mental wink.

"Think hot, huh," the boy muttered to himself. After gathering some wood, Naruto relaxed in comfortable position, trying to clear his mind. After concentrating for a little bit, he initiated the jutsu.

Horse.

Tiger.

Mimicking the way Sasuke performed his fire jutsus, Naruto placed his fingers to his lips and finished the technique, "Katon: Kakyuu no Jutsu!" he said, expelling his breath towards his pile of wood.

Success! A small stream of flames erupted onto the wood, igniting it ablaze. Laughing at his newfound skill, Naruto realized the possibilities ahead of him – there were so many more  jutsus he could learn, or even develop himself. Munching on his roasted fish, he chuckled at the thought of Sasuke's face once he would see he was not the only one who could  perform katon jutsus.

Stretching out after his meal, Naruto searched for a place to spend the night. He knew there were some wild animals that prowled around the woods at night. Also, some strange insects populated the area, like those huge centipedes.

_"You know,"_ started the demon, _"The safest place is usually in a tree."_

It was a while before Naruto fully understood what Kyubi was really trying to say. _"Sadist…" he muttered in defeat._

Author's Notes: Poor Naruto has to climb a tree if he wants to sleep safe L. Anyway, once this training section is over there should be a bit more action, and romance! So don't despair.

Katon: Kakyuu no Jutsu should translate to Fire Type: Fireball skill. I sort of guessed about that since I don't know Japanese.


	7. Another Exercise

Author's Notes: Italics are still thoughts, anything in side brackets [ ] are Naruto's flashbacks.

"Well," started Kakashi, "Since it seems like our teamwork has gone down the drain, we need to work to improve it." Reaching into his pouch, he produced a bell dangling from a thin cord which he then attached to his belt.

"Kakashi-sensei, we already know what the purpose of the bell exercise is for," remarked Sakura.

"That's why there's only one bell," the instructor replied with a smile, "I won't go easy like I did last time, so you guys will definitely have to work together to get the bell off of me." With this last statement complete, he pulled out his favorite book and started walking away.

While Sakura maintained a bewildered expression of confusion, Sasuke stared at his sensei a calm set of eyes, as if he expected this new exercise. Naruto, on the other hand, looked plainly like he did not care, and this whole exercise was a waste of his time. Still, an exercise was an exercise, and if he wanted to resume his own training, he would need to complete this one.

"Realistically, I think the only way to stand a chance would be if we all attacked him at once in a coordinated manner," Sasuke mused out loud. 

Naruto snickered at that, "Don't you remember the Wave country?" he asked.

"Yea," replied Sasuke, irked at his partner's obvious contempt.

"Jounins, at that level, don't fight each other directly." At the Uchiha's quizzical look, Naruto continued as if lecturing, "Most prefer to remain hidden and use clones instead of themselves."

"Yea, but we haven't seen Kakashi-sensei do any jutsus yet," said Sakura.

"Heh, I doubt he even needs to do the seal, he's probably hiding in the bushes right now."

Casting a glance in his sensei's direction, Naruto saw him calmly leaning against one of the three wooden poles reading his book. "I'll show you what I mean," he added.

With his hands in his pockets, the blonde genin calmly strolled over to the area with the three poles. The gentle breeze that wafted over the training grounds definitely put meaning to the expression 'calm before the storm.' The memory of his genin exam flashed through his mind for a second – hanging upside down from a tree was definitely not something he wanted to experience again. "Damn, this is going to take a long time," he muttered to himself with a sigh.

From his peripheral vision, Kakashi could tell his student had stopped a short distance away from him. He could also tell that the boy had assumed a fighting stance, but he could not clearly see from his angle. _"Looks like they're getting started,"_ he thought to himself with a chuckle.

_"So you've already noticed that it's a clone?"_ rumbled the demon deep within the bowels of Naruto's mind.

_"Isn't it obvious?"_ was the response.

_"I'm glad to see your training wasn't a waste,"_ the demon replied softly.

As he was taught, Naruto positioned his feet slightly more than shoulder-length apart – left leg forward. Bringing up his arms, right hand pointing down, left palm pointed towards Kakashi, he slowly exhaled the remaining air in his lungs. 

[ _"__This stance provides you with both offensive and defensive capabilities," the Nine-tails lectured, __"Even weight distribution means you aren't restricted to either one. Downwards palm is for attack, and the upwards palm is for defense."_

Meanwhile, Naruto precariously maintained his balance on two of his fingers high in a tree. He did not have to bother too much with maintaining his balance; both his fingers and his control were greatly improved. While the demon lectured, he calmly listened, taking in every detail. ]

_"It's now or never,"_ he thought to himself. Racing towards his own sensei, Naruto seized the initiative and launched his first attack. Using two fingers, he thrust them at Kakashi aiming for a pressure point on his side. As he had expected, though, the jounin was quick to sidestep. 

In a fluid motion, Kakashi grabbed his student's hand and meant to smash it into the pole he was leaning on. _"Fool," snickered Naruto to himself. With his other hand, Naruto stabbed his instructor's wrist, forcing him to let go. In a flash, he was inside his guard and had struck pressure points on either arm._

Sasuke observed from a distance, shocked as Naruto reached back and thrust his open palm forward, transforming his sensei into a puff of smoke.

"Geez, how did he see through that?" Sakura wondered outloud.

"Blind luck," was the jealous response. Clearly, Sasuke was still gripping with the fact that his teammate had long surpassed him. Ever since the Forest of Death, Naruto's strength and skill were drastically different.

_"Damn, I still don't know where he's hiding,"_ muttered the blonde genin.

_"He's probably using genjutsu to hide in the bushes,"_ growled Kyubi.

Upon the demon's advice, Naruto clasped his hands together and began concentrating on the chakra sources in the area. He could clearly feel his teammates a little ways off, and he thought he sensed something to his right, but that could not be it. It was too obvious for it to be his sensei. _"He's sneaky,"_ he thought to himself, _"Setting up an extra illusion like that to throw me off."_

_"Did he already find me?"_ wondered Kakashi to himself. He could see Naruto unclasp his hands after his bout of extreme concentration. Through the leaves, he observed the genin take out a kunai and scan around his location. He did not like the way his exercise had started out. Even though it was still early, so far Naruto was the only one doing anything while Sasuke and Sakura stood around.

Suddenly, Naruto quickly whirled around towards his hiding spot and threw a kunai in his direction. _"Just a kunai?__ Don't tell me that's all you got?" _

"Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," he heard Naruto shout and the single kunai turned into thirty, all heading straight at him.

_"I won't be able to dodge them all; I need to get out of here."_

Scrambling from his hiding place, Kakashi was barely in time as the kunais rained down into the bush he was hiding in. _"With all the racket I'm making, they've probably spotted me now. I can't believe he saw through both my clone and my illusion."_

"What the…is that Kakashi-sensei in the bushes over there?" asked Sakura in wonder.

"You're right," boggled her teammate, "I can't believe Naruto found him so fast.'

"Shouldn't we go and do something?"

Staring off into space, Sasuke paused for a moment, "Yea, follow me."

_"Geez, what are those idiots doing?"_ grumbled the blonde genin as his teammates moved to intercept their instructor. _"They're just going to get in my way."_

_"Well, you know they won't stand a chance,"_ stated the demon.

_"Yea, but their useless efforts are annoying."_

_"Good,"_ the demon projected with a mental smile, _"You know what to do."_

[ _"__I don't understand why you keep telling me to give into my anger,"  Naruto announced, _"Shinobis are supposed to keep their emotions in check; You of all people should know that."__

_"Only a fool would reject his emotions as a fuel for strength,"_ Kyubi replied, _"And there is much hate in you. I can sense it."_

_"Why are you doing this?"_

_"Boy, it is my fault that you are hated so. It is only right for me to rectify the situation as best I can."_

_"If I give in too much I might lose control and do something I might regret."_

_"Your body is a strong enough vessel now, there should be no fear of that. Besides, there is nothing that you would do to these people that you should regret. They are the ones that treat you lower than dirt." ]_

Naruto watched in silence as Kakashi took care of his teammates. Although on one side, he knew he should go and join in, but the other side of him did not even want to lift a finger for these people. It was almost comical to watch the other genins try to attack their sensei, only to be blocked and pushed back. _"They really don't stand a chance,"_ he thought to himself, _"And most likely, even I am still not strong enough."_

_"I wonder why Naruto hasn't joined in yet,"_ pondered the jounin, _"Maybe, he's going to ambush me…Nope, there he is now." _To say that Naruto was hurrying would not have been accurate. He was not moving as fast as somebody whose teammates were being attacked, but it was not the same leisurely pace as before.

"Naruto, why aren't you attacking with your teammates?"

"Because," and then he paused, "They will only get in my way."

_"Sheesh, that's totally not like him,"_ Kakashi thought to himself, _"He's changed in the past weeks."_ "You're completely missing the point of the exercise with that attitude," he said aloud.

"You and I both know teamwork doesn't matter in this setting."

_"Pff, he's right too. The only way they'd get the bell is if I was unconscious, or unable to move."_

"Teams are such a hassle," continued the genin, "I can work much better if I'm not concerned with such burdens."

Kakashi smirked at that last statement. "Big words coming from the Dead-last graduate of the Academy," he said with a slight snicker. _"Odd, he's not reacting to that."_

_"Not yet,"_ cautioned the demon, _"Do not give in just yet."_ On the outside he was calm and collected, but on the inside, Naruto was about ready to burst. Who did he think he was, insulting him openly like that?

"Well, this banter is useless. If you're going to do something, then do it." _"Hrm, he's not using that weird stance from before – he's going to use ninjutsu."_

"Let's get wild then," retorted the genin with a smirk and launched his hands into a series of seals. "Katon: Ryuuken Endan no Jutsu!" With his hands cupped to his mouth, two giant streams of flames flew out and circled around the jounin. There was no time to dodge and the fire erupted onto Kakashi in a yellow-orange lightshow.

Naruto's smirk was quickly erased when a kunai was pressed to his neck.

"Not a bad technique for a genin, but not enough for me," said Kakashi nonchalantly, "If you were using teamwork, I wouldn't be pressing this kunai to your neck."

"Hehe, you seem so sure of yourself. Maybe you should use your Sharingan," replied Naruto as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

_"Geez, his jutsu speed is as fast as mine. This could get dirty."_ Kakashi had no more time to think as he felt two fingers pressed hard against the small of his back. "Well, I'll admit you've gotten faster."

"From here, I have no less than twenty-one attack options open to me," stated Naruto in a taunting voice, "What are you going to do now, sensei?"

"Simple," was the reply. In another puff of smoke, the image of his instructor was replaced by that of a log. Although, that move was not surprising coming from the student of the Fourth Hokage. What surprised him, though, was hearing his voice on his right side: "Even without my Sharingan I was able to copy your skill…Katon: Ryuuken Endan no Jutsu!"

_"Crap, I won't have time to dodge,"_ muttered Naruto in frustration, _"I'm going to have to counter it." There was no time to think; the twin flame spirals were closing fast. No time to decide what jutsu to perform. Instinct grabbed a hold of his reactions and his hands moved seemingly by themselves._

_"The Bird seal?"_ wondered Kakashi, _"He really has grown tremendously to be able to perform water types when there is no water around."_

"Suiton: Suiheki Sou no Jutsu!" Naruto yelled out just in time. Before the flames could close in on him, two small walls of water appeared on either side of him, successfully countering a skill that he himself created.

Meanwhile, Sasuke and Sakura were following the battle while clutching their (minor) wounds. "I don't believe it," repeated Sakura yet again, "This is like watching two jounins go at it. The ninjutsu level is incredible."

"I can't believe he can do earth, water, **and fire types," muttered Sasuke. "His improvement just isn't human." _"Naruto, I have to admit that I am jealous of you. Just how far have you come?"_**

"Well, I'll admit that's pretty impressive of you," said Kakashi in his usual voice, "But this is getting tiresome so I won't go easy anymore."

"Is that so?" replied the blonde genin, "Well, I shouldn't either," he finished with a dark grin.

_"He's been holding back too? Just what happened during that week he went missing?"_

Author's Notes: 

Katon: Ryuuken Endan no Jutsu should translate to something like "Fire type: Dragon Fist Blast."

Suiton: Suiheki Sou no Jutsu should be "Water type: Double Water Wall," I think. My syntax is probably wrong and I'm probably using the wrong word, but I don't know Japanese. So if you see a mistake, or have a better suggestion be sure to tell me so I can correct it.

I will answer a few questions that arised in the reviews I received. One was a concern that I would make Naruto too powerful. My reasoning behind this development is that he has a 1000 year old demon sealed inside of him (from my limited knowledge of Japanese folkore, apparently demon foxes receive their ninth tail after one thousand years). I figure, Naruto should be way more powerful than he is in the anime/manga.

Another question was why Naruto seemed so willing to kill the Cloud ninja. Well, he didn't really want to kill him at first, but he doesn't know just how powerful the Rasengan really is. The only reason it didn't kill Kabuto was because Kabuto had already started healing himself. So he didn't really expect to kill the Cloud ninja, but now he's killed, and it kind of changed him.

Concerning dialogue with other characters, well, I'm still finishing the establishment of the Naruto/Kyubi relationship (should take another chapter). Once that's done, there will be more dialogue with other characters, I promise. And yes, I will introduce the main conflict soon. If things go well (but they never do when you write a story), I will add in the "real" romance in two or three chapters.

And now, a little background on Naruto's new taijutsu style. As I not-so-subtly-hinted in previous chapters, it is somewhat related to the Hyuga style. Masashi Kishimoto based the Hyuga style on Pa Qua Chang (Chinese for Eight Trigram Palm). It's a complex martial art based on the principles of the Yin and Yang and open fist palm movements. The trigram contains eight elements, each balancing out each other.

Now, Naruto's stance (even weight distribution, palm up, and other palm down) I took from a specific Kung-fu style which I don't even know the name of. Basically, the reason I emphasized finger strength was because even in real life, you can deal powerful attacks with just two fingers (my karate sensei was fond of using me as an example for the class).


	8. A Chance Meeting

"Is that so?" replied Naruto, "Well, I shouldn't either," he finished with a dark grin.

_"This is no good, you aren't controlling yourself properly,"_ said the demon chastising his student. His words were only met with silence as his host concentrated on the person in front of him. Despite his best efforts, Naruto was still not able to harness his emotions properly. Although he could still tap into the Nine-tails' power to a certain degree, if he exceeded that amount, his emotions went awry. Once that happened, there was no telling how he would act.

_"That stance…"_ Kakashi pondered, _"There aren't any openings. I'm going to have to draw him out."_ "Here I come!" he called out aloud.

Speed was definitely not an issue for him. His days in the ANBU were not for nothing. Considering the fight had gone on long enough, it was time to start using his normal capabilities, but he was still not going all out. Against a genin, though, it was all he needed.

A quick burst of speed, a side-step, a slight feint and he was inside Naruto's guard, slamming his fist into his opponent's temple – it was a clean hit.

Instead of flying backwards from the sheer force of the blow like he was supposed to, Naruto, in fact, did not move at all. It was as if a fly had settled on the side of his head. Even more surprising was a warm glow wrapping around the boy's body. "Chakra…?" asked Kakashi before an open handed slap to the top of his chest sent him reeling backwards.

"I'm flattered you noticed," smirked the blonde genin.

_"This is definitely a by-product of the Nine-tails. I wonder if the seal has loosened beyond control."_ "You gathered chakra into your body to reinforce yourself," the jounin observed, "Not bad for somebody like you to be able to do that." 

"Not just to my body," said an emotionless Naruto.

_"That's true, that hit to my chest was more powerful than it should have been."_ Even though he was a genius, anybody could have figured out the connection between the two statements. "I see," Kakashi said as realization spread across his face, "You gathered chakra into your hand…although it's not nearly like my Raikiri." _"But for him to channel his chakra so quickly…and that killing intent!__ It's almost the Wave Country all over again."_

"It looks like they're going to attack each other again," whispered Sasuke to his teammate, "But it doesn't matter, one week of training isn't enough to allow him to beat Kakashi-sensei."

"Or is it?" continued Sakura without taking her gaze off of the other two.

Despite his calm outward appearance, the utmost depths of Naruto's inner self was in turmoil. Despite his training in the Forest of Death he had not fully mastered his new style. If he had been able to hit his sensei it was because he had been underestimated, and that was likely not going to happen again. He could always gather more power, but that would mean losing himself even more. It was folly to challenge a jounin of Kakashi's level as he had done so, although he still did not realize it.

_"He's using that stance again,"_ Kakashi observed, _"I guess he's about to…here he comes!"_

[ _"__Right foot seventy percent, body thirty percent," ordered Kyubi._

Responding to the order, Naruto adjusted the chakra levels in his body accordingly as he slowly lifted his leg. Taking his time, he paid close attention to synchronizing the flow of his chakra with his kick. As his leg neared the apex of its arc, so did his chakra. Despite the slow, deliberate movement, some bark chipped off of the tree he was aiming for as his foot connected.

_"A perfect transfer, very good,"_ the demon said with praise, _"Although, you must now start doing it faster." ]_

Once within Kakashi's range, Naruto diverted from his head-on path and feinted. As expected of a jounin, Kakashi saw through the feint, but instead of blocking he side-stepped and allowed the attack to pass by. As he spun around the fist, he brought his own up and aimed it at his student's head. It was too late though, Naruto had already flowed chakra back to his body in defense so the punch had no effect.

Attack, block, counter, feint, dodge, followed in rapid succession as each shinobi probed the other for an opening. It seemed that they were evenly matched, though Naruto received several hits, while his sensei took none. On and on it went until, in an act of frustration, Naruto over-extended himself and lost his balance. Seeing the high amount of chakra in the attack, Kakashi spun out, but the extended hand still grazed his elbow and knocked him slightly off balance as well.

He was not a jounin for nothing though. In half a heartbeat he steadied himself and jumped back for a counter-attack. Naruto's lack of mastery of his new style proved to be a significant dampener. While struggling to regain his balance, he forgot that his chakra still remained concentrated in his hand, while his body was left virtually undefended. In that small time margin, Kakashi lived up to his rank and punched the genin square in the stomach.

"I'm impressed your still standing," he called out to his student, "You took several of my attacks."

"You once said the Hyuga taijutsu style was the oldest and strongest in the village," said Naruto instead of replying, "That's not quite true. Mine goes back several hundred years."

"I see, so it is as I thought," Kakashi said while adjusting his mask, "Ryu no Mai…right? The flow of chakra through your body to increase attack, defense, and speed."

"Yup!" Naruto answered with a wide grin.

_"Well, it looks like he's back to his old self,"_ Kakashi noted, _" but he could have only learned about that old style from the Kyubi. If their memories are merging, it could be trouble. I'll have to inform Hokage-sama about this."  "Well, the exercise is over and you've all failed miserably," he said out loud, "I guess we'll just have to run D-ranks until it gets better," he added in a song-song voice. Ignoring the collective groans of his students, he offered a wave and disappeared to attend to his business._

"Geez, that's just like him too," muttered an annoyed Sakura, "Disappearing like that."

"Naruto, baka," growled Sasuke, "Why didn't you come help us instead of taking your sweet time?"

"Huh?" replied the blonde genin, "What are you talking about?" Ignoring Sasuke's dropped jaw hanging wide open, Naruto kept on with his usual manner. "I don't really remember much about what happened – just that Kakashi-sensei hurt me a little," he finished with another wide grin.

"You mean, you really don't remember?" the pink-haired kunoichi asked skeptically. A vigorous head shake answered the question with finality. "Geez, now we're going to be running D-rank missions forever!"

"Meh, whatever. I'm going to get some ramen."

Walking towards his favorite ramen stand, Naruto's brow was slightly creased in worry by the fact that his memories of the earlier exercise were too blurry to remember. He recalled performing his Ryuuken Endan, but everything afterwards he just simply could not. Worse, his new sensei was lecturing him, and seemed to enjoy it.

_"You fool,"_ rumbled the demon, _"A little more and you would have gone completely under. You are not capable of controlling such power yet."_

_"Gomenasai, sensei,"_ the boy replied apologetically, _"But I still don't know what you're talking  about."_

With a mental snort, the demon explained, _"Of course not, bringing out such emotions is akin to being another personality. Therefore, you do not remember what takes place."_

Naruto frowned at that last piece of troubling information. He would need to become a lot stronger in order to control more of the Nine-tails's power. It would not do to allow these brief amnesia periods to last any longer. If he were to kill somebody in that state, it would be a wonder how soon the other villagers would hunt him down. 

_"Hey hey, sensei.__ How was my fight with Kakashi-sensei?"_

_"In terms of taijutsu, an outsider would say it was even. However, you allowed several hits to connect that should not have."_

_"Whatever, I still cannot control my chakra perfectly – that was to be expected."_

_"For ninjutsu, he clearly held the upper hand. Copying your technique without the Sharingan is no small feat. But, you've yet to reveal your genjutsus."_

_"Best I should save those for later, sensei."_

_"I'm glad to see I've imparted at least a little wisdom to you."_

_"You're so kind."_

As the Nine-tails demon inside of him continued explaining to him how the battle had proceeded, Naruto resolved to never go so far as to completely give himself up, unless under extreme circumstances. Hopefully, he would never have to, but the life of a shinobi is never certain. Ideally, his control would continue improving over time, thus eliminating the need.

_"Pay attention,"_ the demon interjected, _"As I was saying: your control has improved, but you still take too much time when shifting your chakra."_

_"It's only been four days since I've learned though,"_ Naruto explained defensively, _"My chakra control still needs to get better."_

_"Of course it does, that is why you must continue training it."_

_"Not a minute's respite with you, is there?"_

_"You expect to get better just sitting there?"_ came the demon's thoughts, dripping with sarcasm.

_"Of course not,_" sighed the boy in resignation.

Meanwhile, after taking leave of his students, Kakashi had immediately left for the Hokage's office. The events of the day's small exercise troubled the gray-haired jounen immensely. After knocking, a muffled "come in" was heard through the door, and he entered.

"It's about Naruto, isn't it?" Tsunade asked after a quick glance from her paperwork.

"You are as perceptive as always Hokage-sama," Kakashi replied, "I think Naruto is merging more and more with the Nine-tails."

"What makes you say that?" she said, giving him her full attention.

"During a training exercise, Naruto was acting strangely, and afterwards he could not remember why he acted that way."

"Go on," she urged.

"Also, since our mission to the Lightning Country, his improvement rapidly increased. He's able to use to use water, fire, and earth type jutsus…"

"That in itself is not something troublesome."

"…and earlier today he was using an archaic fighting style, Ryu no Mai."

"Ryu no Mai…" pondered the Hokage, "That hasn't been used for centuries because it consumed too much chakra."

"But it's perfect for someone like Naruto, who holds immense amounts."

"True, but how did he learn it, the last scroll containing any information about it was lost before he was born."

"Perhaps the Fourth not only sealed the Nine-tails's spirit, but his personality as well," offered Kakashi.

"Perhaps. Jiraiya understands the seal better than I do, but I believe it was designed to allow some parts of the Kyubi to merge with its host."

"So its memories as well?"

"Again, perhaps," Tsunade replied deep in thought, "But there really isn't anything we can do, except hope that Naruto is able to withstand the temptation of such power. Jiraiya is better with seals than I am, and more familiar with the Fourth's work. If need be he can place a three part seal, but that might end up hurting him more than helping."

After paying for his meal, Naruto once again headed for the outskirts of the village to practice some more. All along the way, the demon recounted various events from the  far past. Although he would definitely not admit it, he apparently enjoyed telling stories from his millennium long existence. Naruto was so wrapped up that he failed to react when somebody from around the corner plowed into him and sent them both sprawling.

"Gomenasai!" exclaimed a soft, but nervous voice, "I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking."

"No, its my fault," the blonde genin said rubbing his head, "I should have been paying att…Hinata-chan?"

"N…Naruto-kun," she gasped as her hands flew to her mouth in surprise, "W…What are you doing here?"

"Oh, me? Uhhh, I'm taking a walk I guess…but why are you blushing like that for?"

"W…What?" she asked feigning ignorance, although she knew very well her face was a dark crimson, "Oh no! My stuff." Strewn all over the road were the contents of Hinata's bag.

"Don't worry," Naruto exclaimed, "I'll get it for you," he said with a wide grin.

While Naruto hustled around picking up the stray articles, Hinata took the opportunity to dust herself off. It was so embarrassing to meet somebody, especially him of all people, this way.

After running after the more volatile items, Naruto presented them back to their owner with another of his trademark grins. As she reached out to accept it, both their hands brushed each other's for a fleeting moment, but it was enough to send sparks down Hinata's arm, and leave a strange feeling with Naruto.

"Umm, I really need to get back to my team," she said averting her eyes. Quickly turning around, she left with a quick good-bye. Not saying anything, Naruto gazed after her as she half-ran, half-jogged to her destination.

_"Why does she always act so weird?"_ he wondered, unknowingly rehashing the age-old question concerning women.

_"Isn't it obvious?"_ the demon sneered, _"Or do you always lose your wits in the presence of a female?"_


	9. Strength

Towering above the vegetation, the horizon appeared further away than it usually did. Gazing across the vast expanse of land, it was truly a sight to behold, though it was of no importance. Trees crumbled at his every step, mountains were level from a mere flicker of the tail, the feeling of power was undeniable. At his feet, several people uselessly tried to stop him. Their determination of their struggles was almost palpable in the night air. It was of no matter, they would not be able to halt him. Purpose? He had no purpose. All he wanted to do was cause suffering to whatever he could. Below him, he continued his destruction, little by little he would kill the puny creatures, and then he would…

"STOP IT!" Naruto yelled out as he bolted upright. Sweat was beading around his forehead and his neck as his shallow breathing slowly deepened. After calming down, somewhat, he glanced around himself, making sure of his location – it was definitely his room, and he was on the ground. His dirty clothes were in the same spot as he had left them the night before, and his equipment was still strewn every which way. _"Phew," breathing a sigh of relief, __"It was just a nightmare."_

_"Not quite,"_ replied the demon.

_"What do you mean not quite? And don't you ever get some mental shut-eye, or something,"_ he added.

_"Demons do not require sleep,"_ the beast scoffed proudly, _"But what you experienced in your sleep was no dream - it was one of my previous memories."_

_"Wow…cool."_

_"Idiot…do you even know what this means?"_

_"It means you're merging with me even more. I'm no baka, Jiraiya-sama already explained how the seal worked."_

_"Hrmph, I guess that means I will not have to teach you as many things, since they will be part of your memories."_

  Naruto could feel a slight twinge in his chest after the demon's last statement. On one hand, he knew that in the end the Nine-tails would completely merge with him, thus destroying it. On the other hand, he would sorely miss the presence in the back of his mind. Nobody had ever understood him so completely; losing the demon would be like losing a piece of himself.

_"Now's not the time to sit there idly, you still need to warm up."_

_"Hai, sensei.__ Thirty laps right?"_  Without even waiting for confirmation, the he jumped up from the floor, hurriedly slipped on his traditional orange jumpsuit, and raced out the door all pumped for his daily morning routine. After nearly a month of such work-outs, his body was rock hard and his endurance second to no genin. Along with his increased stamina, his chakra control skyrocketed now that his body could handle the massive his massive amounts.

After his work-out, Naruto realized he was late for his team's usual meeting. It was a debate between being late and clean, or being late and dirty. _"Oh well, they'll just have to deal with it," he decided, choosing the latter._

Walking along, hands in his pockets, he did not even realize he had hardly sweat. Of course, more pressing matters kept him preoccupied. It was not the first time he had experienced dreams from the memories of the Kyubi, he realized that. However, this was the first time it was so vivid. Everything had seemed so real: the ground under his feet, the blood in the air, the wind – he could still clearly remember it. Right now, though, he was at the meeting place, but Kakashi was nowhere to be seen.

"You're late you know," Sasuke stated in guise of greeting.

"Oh…hehehe," came the nervous response, "I was just out for a little run."

"You call thirty times around the village little?"

Ignoring Sakura's gasp, Naruto covered up his surprise with a grin. How did he know about his exercises? _"That bastard Kiba must have spread the word." Mentally groaning at the prospects of what might entail, he started to understand how Shikamaru felt._

Fortunately for him, Kakashi chose that exact moment to make his entrance. Instead of the usual puff of smoke, he was casually strolling while reading his usual book. "Ah, good morning everyone," he greeted them, "Somebody stopped me on my way here with some good news."

"Oh what is it?" Naruto asked excitedly, "Are we being assigned an A-rank super high class mission!?"

"Not quite," said the jounin chuckling at his student's enthusiasm, "But, the chuunin selection exam is in a month."

"Has it already been five months?" Sakura asked incredulously.

"Just about. Anyway, it's a slow day, and there aren't any available missions, so you guys take it easy, or something."

As their sensei walked off, an uncomfortable silence fell upon the group. After a few moments of discomfort, finally Naruto spoke up: "So…you guys wanna do something?"

"Sasuke-kun…" started Sakura in a sing-song voice, "Do you want to…"

"No," interrupted the black-haired Uchiha, "I have other things to do."

Disappointment slowly crept into the kunoichi's face as she watched her crush walk off. But disappointment changed into mischief as she turned and faced Naruto. In her sweetest voice she said, "Naruto, how about you and me do something?"

"Che?" he uttered in surprise. Sakura was asking _him_ to do something? That was definitely a first. "But whatever it is, I'm not interested. I've given up on you long ago., but you were too blind to even realize that. Whatever, I'm out of here." Turning his back to his teammate, he calmly walked off without bothering to catch Sakura's blank expression. 

_"That was better handled than the other female,"_ rumbled the demon, _"Although you still require practice."_

_"Will you shut up about Hinata,"_ he replied slightly irked, _"It's not as if she likes me." All that answered him was a mental chuckle. At times like this, the demon could be quite odd, a personality trait he must have developed from himself, which in itself was not a comforting thought._

Trudging along his favorite forest path, Naruto felt particularly lazy since it was not often that there were no D-rank missions available. The Nine-tails inside of him had yet to come out of its own world. It was just like his academy days, when he had nobody to talk to. He had always enjoyed exploring around the outdoors when he was not pulling pranks. Not surprising since he was so full of energy. Now was different though; instead of chasing after squirrels and lifting up rocks, he was taking his time and enjoying the scenery – something he had never quite done before. Stopping by a tree, he stooped down and smelled a flower growing near the roots. The peacefulness of being alone was something he did not even know he missed. Standing up, he sighed and his fists started to clench as unbidden memories of his past rose up to taunt him some more. Images of people with cold stares flashed before his eyes, pauses in conversation as he passed by, pointing and murmuring, it was all a part of his childhood. Thoughts about his dead parents drove him overboard and he rammed his fist into the tree, creating a deep dent in the trunk.

Whenever he was sad, the only remedy was to work himself out. Without a second thought, Naruto drove his left hand into the trunk and pulled himself up from the handhold he created. Little by little, he worked his way up the tree in this manner. Tree climbing was second nature to him since his time in the Forest of Death. Soon, he was standing on the tallest branch. So, he jumped to the next tree, and jumped again, letting his instincts guide him as he purposely exhausted himself. He did not need to do this sort of thing since he was assigned to his team, but even his friends were not able to make him forget his past.

Leaping from tree to tree, he only held a vague sense of where he was. Despite his carelessness, his senses were still constantly alert. Stopping himself on a particularly thick branch, Naruto almost lost his slipping as he realized there was somebody in the vicinity. Was somebody following him? Could it be a missing-nin? It was not that long ago that Itachi and Kisame showed up in the village. Clasping his hands together, he concentrated on the location. He could sense the presence a few hundred feet from him to the north. Fortunately, the presence did not seem as strong as him. It held a certain familiarity to it, like a lingering scent that he could barely recognize. _"Could it be…?"_ he wondered to himself. There was only one way of verifying.

For good measure, he wrapped himself in an inconspicuous genjutsu he developed while trying to hide from Konohamaru. As stealthily as it was possible for him, he made his way north. A few more jumps and he came upon a small clearing. He remembered where he was now, it was not too far off from the place he became a genin.

Down in the clearing, he could see somebody hunched over themselves with their back against a tree. _"Hinata…what's she doing here?"_ Naruto was partially thankful at the fact that the demon was inactive, for the time being. He did not feel like enduring more enigmatic statements from the fox. 

From his angle, he could not distinguish her facial expression, but the way she was hunched over herself spoke for itself. He had no idea why she would be in such a mood since she appeared to be doing well the day before. There was only one way for him to approach this situation, and that's the path he chose.

"Oy! Hinata-chan!" he yelled out enthusiastically, and then jumped down right in front of a very surprised Hinata, "Whatcha doing out here?"

"Naruto-kun!" she gasped. The suddenness of the greeting was enough to startle anyone. "Um, nothing I guess," she replied avoiding his gaze.

"Nothing? That doesn't sound too exciting," he said stretching himself out.

"Yea," was the barely audible reply.

Sensing the sadness in her voice, Naruto squatted down so he was eye level with her. "Hinata, what's wrong? This isn't like you to be all depressed."

The whole situation seemed to be straight out of a dream. The one person she was most interested in was genuinely concerned about her. Even so, she was not sure whether or not to confide in him. Would she look like a fool if she did? "I…" she started, but she could not continue. Those deep blue eyes of his seemed endless. Again, she averted her eyes.

"Come on," he said gently, "Just let it out, its alright."

"I…" she started again, "I wish I was stronger!" There, she said it. He was going to laugh at her now, she was sure of it!

"Is that it?" he asked slightly surprised. After a light chuckle he continued, "Hinata…you're already strong," he said with a smile. Before she could say anything in response, he sat down next to her and explained himself. "After your fight with Neji, I swore that I would defeat him no matter what. I was almost unable to keep that promise, but as I was doubled over in pain, I remembered how you stood back up no matter what." Pausing again, he stared out into space, faintly smiling at the memory. "You probably don't realize it, but in my eyes you're a strong person."

A faint flicker of a smile played over Hinata's lips after Naruto finished talking, but it soon disappeared. "Even so, my father still considers me a weakling." A single tear streaked across her left cheek. "I can't even see the tenketsu," she murmured sadly.

"Tenketsu…" Naruto mumbled to himself, rolling the word on his tongue. Where had he heard that before? He remembered Kakashi explaining about them at the preliminaries, but before that…there was something else. An image of an old man wearing ceremonial robes flashed in his mind. Before the old man stood another man with one of his arms bare. Realizing what it was, Naruto leapt to his feet in excitement. "Hey Hinata," he said in a rushed voice, "Gimme your arm." Without even waiting for her consent he grabbed her wrist and folded the sleeve back.

"Naruto-kun," she started to protest, but he was deep in concentration and did not notice. She did not want to pull her hand back and be rude, so she watched and tried to figure out what he was doing.

Slowly, Naruto traced a finger up her fore-arm and stopped midway. As if unsatisfied, he repeated himself, but on a different side. Hinata could feel a faint pressure as he flowed a little chakra from his fingertips, as if probing for something. _"Ouch!" she thought to herself as Naruto simultaneously pressed to spots on her arm. _

"There!" he announced proudly, "See where my two fingers are?"

"Yea…" she was not sure where this was going.

"Take a look at those spots with your Byakugan,"

After a few hand seals, she examined her arm, but try as she would she did not see anything different, which she told him.

"Look at the Inner Coils," he urged, "Don't you see something?"

She could definitely see the chakra conduit with no problem, but there was nothing out of the ordinary, except for a slight discoloration… "You enlarged one of my tenketsu," she exclaimed.

"Yup," Naruto replied grinning, "I figured, if I showed you, you'd know what to look for."

Bringing up her other arm into view, she examined it like she did her other arm. She could barely make it out, but sure enough she could see the discolorations in her Inner Coils system.

"That discoloration's where the meets the skin," he filled in like he was reading her mind.

"This is amazing," she murmured as she looked over her whole body. Here and there she pressed the spots trying enlarge them. After her own self, she turned towards Naruto to see if she could find them on him, but she saw him deep in thought. "What's wrong Naruto-kun," she asked in a concerned tone, "Did I say something wrong?" The last thing she wanted to do was offend him, especially after what he did for her.

"You know," he said looking intently at her face, "You look better when you smile. You should smile more often," he added with a giant grin.

Blood involuntarily rushed to her face as she blushed a furious crimson. He'd never complimented her like that, she had no idea what to say. Before she could even think of something, though, he continued talking.

"Anyway, I really need to get going, I'll see ya around sometime." Turning around, he flashed her another grin over his shoulder, jumped into a tree and he was gone.

Slightly stunned at the suddenness of the departure, Hinata rested her back against the tree thinking that maybe this day was not so bad after all.

Author's Notes: Wow, writing this sort of thing was harder than I first thought.


	10. Nothing Lost Everything Gained

Days blurred into weeks as time went on. Kakashi remained true to his word and Team Seven completed only D-rank missions. Although he would never admit it, the true reason behind the bell exercise was to show his students how poor their teamwork was, and that they would not perform well in the Chuunin Selection Exam if they did not work on it. Fortunately, the genins somewhat realized it and improved themselves, though slightly.

After his chance encounter with Hinata in the woods, Naruto was not quite sure what to make of it. Right before he left her, his heart was pounding and he even started to sweat a little. It was as if the last thing he wanted to do was doing something wrong, especially in front of her. When he had left, the demon took ample time to give his opinion.

_"That was brilliantly carried out,"_ it snickered, _"You really know how to interact with other females."_

_"Ha ha,"_ Naruto had responded back, _"I'm no stranger to sarcasm, that isn't funny."_

_"I especially thought the part where you left suddenly a nice touch."_

The bantering had gone on a long time afterwards until the demon had finally seemed to tire of it. Naruto simply did not pay attention to any of it. Truth be told, sometimes it got on his nerves, but demons were not exactly creatures meant to get a long with. One thing he did notice, though, was that he could not feel the presence of the Nine-tails fox when he was with Hinata.

Over the month before the Exam, he spent as much time as he could with her, but not just because of the demon.  Something about her let him relax completely, something he was only able to do by himself. She was different from the others, maybe it was her reserved shyness, the way she smiled, or how she never looked down on him.

Maybe it was for all of those reasons that Naruto just could not stand to see her sad. From the past, he knew she had low self-confidence ever since her father had rejected her in favor of her younger sister, Hanabi. Being a male, his mind worked in a certain way, so he could only think of one thing to do…and that was helping her.

Being who she was, Hinata had tried to decline, arguing that it was a waste of his time. However, being as stubborn as he was, he insisted, replying that it was no problem at all. Eventually, his eagerness and enthusiasm won her over, just like the first time, and she agreed. So, Naruto showed her an exercise he used to develop his chaka control. He put a leaf on his arm and expelled chakra, sending the leaf fluttering in the air. Of course, for Hinata who was used to flowing chakra out of her hands, it took her no time at all.

It did not stop there though, their meetings were more and more frequent. It was such that he would arrive late to missions. That did not bother him though, his team could think what they wanted of him. As the days went by, the more he trained with her. It was not exactly his fault, ever since he could remember, the only thing he did was pull pranks or train. He did not have any friends to interact with, or parents to teach him. Fortunately for him, Hinata did not seem to mind.

With the demon's memories, Naruto helped her learn more of the Hyuga taijutsu, since her father ceased to teach her. He showed her how to reinforce her body with chakra and everything he knew about pressure points. He even showed off how he climbed trees. Even though he was host to a millennium old demon, Hinata was still able to teach him about medicinal plants and herbs that grew in the area.

The afternoon before the Exam, they were walking together along a path in the village. Neither said much, preferring the silence of each other's company; after all, some things are said best without words. Naruto sometimes stole glances at her when he thought she was not looking. There was something about those white-within-white eyes that captivated him. But when she felt his gaze on her and turned her head to meet his. He quickly averted his eyes and tried to suppress his growing blush.

"Umm, Naruto-kun?" Hinata spoke up suddenly.

_"Damnit, I messed up again,"_ Naruto cursed himself. "Yea?"

"Well, uhh, my house isn't too far away, would you like to come with me?"

His mind paused for a second after the invitation – it was not exactly what he expected to hear. _"Phew, safe,"_ he thought breathing a sigh of relief. At the same time, though, he did not really know what to do. Nobody had ever invited him into their home, not even his teammates. A strange feeling settled in the pit of his stomach, but he said nothing of it.

"Yea, sure," he managed to say with a grin.

Approaching the Hyuga estate, Naruto's eyes were darting in every direction. The place was bigger than anything he had ever seen. "When you said house, I wasn't expecting a mansion," he said which caused Hinata to giggle.

"Well, it's meant for housing the entire clan."

"There are that many?" His question was answered for him as he saw several white-eyed individuals dressed in traditional robes walking along a different path. It was as if the estate was a village entire of itself. As they continued further on, Naruto saw several buildings surrounded by vast gardens. "Those are the Branch family houses," Hinata explained to him.

"So then, where do you live?" he asked.

Before she could answer, a voice from behind stopped them. "Hinata, what do you think you're doing?" Both turned around at the same time to find Hyuga Hiashi standing before them.

"N-Nothing, Father," she stammered out a response, "I just wanted to…"

"Don't you know outsiders are not allowed except for important matters?" he said cutting her off. Turning his glare on Naruto, "You…leave at once," he ordered.

_"Geez, this guy too,"_ Naruto wondered to himself, _"He has the same cold eyes I see everywhere." Deciding not to cause any problems, he offered a quick smile to Hinata and left the way he came from. Before he could walk ten paces, he heard something that made him stop dead in his tracks._

"Hinata, I thought I forbade you to associate with this one."

"But, Father, why? There isn't anything bad about him."

"Because he is of a worthless clan, and is not worthy of us."

Although it was a poor front for the fact that he was the host for the Nine-tails, nobody had ever insulted his family, and it both hurt and angered him more than anything. How strange for him to feel pride for people that were dead before he was born. He could feel his blood beginning to boil, while his heart thumped in his chest. Adrenaline poured into his veins and it was almost as if he could feel the chemical mixing with his blood. _"I can't lose it, not here," he determined, but he could already hear the sweet promise of power._

Whirling around, Naruto faced the haughty Hyuga Hiashi. "I'll make you regret those words," he growled through gritted teeth. _"Shit, what am I doing? I have to stop this." It was too late though, his navel began to tingle which always happened when the demon's chakra slipped through the seal. There was no stopping it, a crimson aura surrounded him as the chakra exploded outwards._

Hiashi narrowed his eyes as he saw Naruto's chakra wrap around him. _"Damn, that's the Nine-tails chakra," he thought to himself, __"And that killing intent, I'll need to be careful." In this situation, he decided it would be better if he pretended he was unphased by such a display of power. "Cease this foolishness immediately," he called out, "What do you hope to accomplish by…" but he did not finish as Naruto suddenly blurred out of sight and re-appeared by his side. It was all he could do avoid a swing directed at his head, but he was not ready for the follow-up kick to his chest._

Stumbling backwards, he regained his balance with difficulty. The genin had kicked him so hard he knew the bruise would last for a long time. _"Even in his frenzied state he attacked me from my only blind spot…this might be harder than I thought."_ Outwardly, he put a slight smirk on his lips. "Boy, you may have been lucky to land a hit, " he said launching his hands in a series of seals, "But that is about to change…Byakugan!" Slipping into the Hyuga stance, he added, "You will feel great pain at my hands for your defiance."

Fighting a Gentle First master was not exactly what Naruto wanted to do at the moment, or ever if he could help it. Now that he had slightly calmed down, he could not help but wonder why he let this happen. _"Damnit, look at what you did."_

_"What I did?"_ the demon complained, _"You were the one that attacked him."_

_"Yea, well sending me your chakra wasn't a great help either."_

At this point, his options were running out. Running away was out of the question with a Hyuga master as his foe. Essentially his only way out was to fight and hope his stamina allowed him to last longer. So, he lined up his feet, raised his guard, and settled his face into a dark glare. "Is that so?" he replied, "You shouldn't underestimate me."

Both fighters faced each other, neither moving an inch, trying to find a weakness in the other's guard. Meanwhile, Hinata was glancing back and forth in between the two, all the while wondering how the situation had escalated so. She knew her father tended to have a harsh tongue, but she never expected Naruto to react so strongly. "Naruto-kun, please," she pleaded desperately once more, "You don't have to do this."

No response. It was not that he refuse to answer, but if he diverted his attention even slightly, Hiashi would quickly take advantage of it. The evening sun drew long shadow from the still forms of the two combatants…but then they were gone. At the same time, both of them blurred away and reappeared a several meters away as Hiashi blocked a palm strike, but was not able to connect his own hand as he lashed out aiming for the heart.

Ignoring the obvious danger, Naruto ducked down low and sped for his opponent, arcing around him. As he approached he could already see Hiashi adjust his stance, ready to strike. Closer now, the palm was heading straight towards his face, but he pressed on. Collision was imminent, and at that moment, he focused chakra to his feet and lept up to meet Hiashi eye to eye. From there, he gathered his chakra to the ridge of his hand and aimed it at the Hyuga's neck. Closer, and closer it went, but it stopped a hair's breadth from connecting. Did he misjudge the distance? Impossible; he must have dodged it, but now was not the time to think about such things, since all his chakra went into his hand, his body was virtually defenseless. Already, he could see the counter-attack, but where would it hit? Head, chest, or stomach; it would have to be a gamble. Hoping he made the right decision, he flowed his chakra into his head and prepared for the worst.

Sure enough, Hyuga Hiashi's open palm rose up to catch Naruto squarely in the jaw, sending him flying back several feet. Rising to his feet, he gave his jaw slight rub and chuckled silently – no damage except for a slight scratch. "I'm surprised you survived that last one," Hiashi called out.

"I'm surprised you were able to dodge mine," Naruto responded in kind.

"I must say, for a genin, you are quite a handful."

"Well, if one's a handful, how about four?" At his words, three other Naruto's appeared next to him in a puff of smoke. Without waiting for a response, all four launched themselves in unison. What ensued could only be described as a dance of death. For a while, neither side gained the upper hand. With Hiashi in the center, the four Narutos had him circled. It was a beautiful intricacy of footwork. While a clone swept at his legs, Hiashi lifted his foot and spun out of another clone's range. A quick shuffle of feet and he thrust his palm out to a third Naruto who in turn rotated out of reach while the last clone countered.

On and on the dance continued until one of the clones stumbled slightly over a slight crater in the ground as it tried dodging a strike to its heart. Unfortunately, the blow landed in the upper abdomen, and the clone's life was snuffed out into smoke. _"That's one," Hiashi counted to himself. With one less person to take up space, the movements became even more dangerous. The Narutos renewed their attacks with even vigor, but they had already lost the initiative. After a short skirmish, another clone was struck head on, and then the last clone disappeared soon after. __"And now the last one," he thought as he whirled around to face nothing._

Where did he go? He was not behind him, nor to the sides. He was not behind any of the trees either. Where could he be?

"Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu," he heard from underneath him as two hands pulled him neck deep into the ground. Behind him, he could see Naruto pop out of the ground and brush himself off.

"Your Byakugan is really powerful," Naruto said coming around to Hiashi's front, "To be able to see three hundred and sixty degrees like that. But, that lulls you into a false sense of security and you do not expect attacks from your blind spot, underneath." He finished while pointing to the ground for effect.

"That is quite an impressive jutsu," Hiashi complimented sarcastically, "Unfortunately, you forget than I am a Jyuuken master." Suddenly, chakra exploded out from his entire body. It was so much more than he had ever seen. It caught up to him in the blink of an eye, before he could gather chakra into his body he was pushed away as Hiashi spun around. He stood up as quickly as possible but his opponent had already jumped out of the hole that was created from Hakkeshou Kaiten, and was rapidly advancing towards him.

"I'll end this foolishness now, young brat," Hiashi announced with a cold face.

Still shaken, there was no way Naruto could dodge. He could not tell where he would be hit, so he gathered chakra and hoped it would not hurt. The very next second, he felt the palm violently strike his heart. He heard Hinata gasp, and then a look of puzzlement spread across the stony face of Hyuga Hiashi. "Why is nothing…I see now. You filled your Inner Coils with chakra. So, my gentle fist was useless all along."

"That isn't the only thing useless," Naruto murmured. As he spoke those words, he grabbed the hand on his heart, holding so it would not move. With his right hand he stabbed his two foremost fingers into his opponent's shoulder. A slight grimace of passed over the Hyuga leader's face. Clutching his shoulder with his left hand, he retreated backwards and examined it.

"Hehe, it isn't responding," he chuckled despite his predicament, "What have you done?"

Naruto made a face he thought was a smirk, "Chakra on your ligament, it'll go away after a while."

"This is definitely interesting, but now the real battle starts."

"How can you say that with one arm that isn't working?"

"That is irrelevant now. Come, you will see the true power of the Hyugas." The stance he assumed was different than normal. His body was positioned even more perpendicular, and his outstretched arm was in perfect alignment. The faint glow of chakra surrounded his entire body.

_"That looks oddly familiar,"_ Naruto thought to himself. He shrugged at the thought though. "If you're read to get serious, so am I." Clasping his hands together, he concentrated for a little bit and was rewarded with another crimson red eruption of chakra, even more than the previous time. This time, he chose his favorite fighting position for whenever he needed to be serious – open palm in front, hand pointing down in the back.

For him, the fight had gone on too long for his tastes, it would be better to end it as soon as possible. There was no telling if he were to get out of hand. Recklessly, he charged forward and aimed for his opponents useless side. Try as he might, Hiashi was too swift, and dodged every single attack and then countered himself. It was not something Naruto expected, but he was no surprised either. _"Oh no!__ He's using the same thing as me." Quickly, he focused fifty percent of his chakra to his left arm and the rest to his left leg. As he had expected, Hiashi's leg was charged with chakra. He blocked the kick with his arm, but it was not  enough and he felt the pain in his arm. _

Whilst still blocking the leg, Naruto crouched down low on his right leg and whipped around with his left, taking out Hiashi's legs from under him. Spreading the chakra from his left leg evenly into his right, he pushed off the ground as high as he could. From there he focused everything into his right hand…and there lay his first mistake.

Gravity violently pulled him back down and he drove his first into the ground where Hiashi had rolled away and launched his open palm at Naruto who barely had time to stand up. He anticipated an attack to his chest, so he was already prepared. As the palm glanced off his body, Naruto shifted his weight jumped straight into Hiashi's raised knee. _"The palm strike was a feint?"_ It was too late to react. He was already doubled over and coughing up blood. _"But if he focused that much chakra into his knee, he's basically defenseless."_ Gambling on that last thought, he all his chakra into his left hand and rammed his foremost fingers into a pressure point on top of Hiashi's liver.

Success! Pain was clearly etched on Hiashi's face as he stumbled back, clutching his side, desperately trying to breathe. As for Naruto, he immediately fell to the ground, coughing more blood up, but he managed to climb back to his feet, though he was barely able to. It was only now that he noticed Hinata's terrified expression. He wished she did not have to go through watching this, but the demon spirit had taken over him, even though it was only for half a moment. He promised himself he would explain everything to her, but now he had to focus on getting out of here alive.

"This farce has gone on long enough, boy. It's time to end it."

"Father! No, please!" Hinata seemed to be begging for something, but he could not concentrate very well due to the pain. In front of him Hiashi clearly ignored his daughter. Instead, he focused his attention on Naruto. "If you concentrate too much chakra into one area, it escapes such as with the Chidori. But if you can contain it, the damage increases, such as with the Rasengan. The trick you see, is to contain it while still in the body."

As Naruto looked with his blurring vision, he saw the bright blue glow chakra around Hiashi's left hand. It was just like with the Chidori, except it did not lance out. It was a pure aura of energy surrounding the hand. _"Damn, even if I concentrate a hundred percent at the area of impact, it'll still heavily damage." He only had one card left up his sleeve. Again, clasping his hands together he tried to concentrate. _"Come on, just a little more. I'm gonna die here."_ He was going to need more time if he were going to draw out more of the Nine-tails chakra, and time was something he did not have. Hiashi began running towards him and then it was all over in a blur before he even knew what happened._

During the whole time, Hinata was pleading her father to reconsider, but he had paid her no attention. Right before Hiashi reached Naruto, she jumped in front of him. By the time Hiashi realized what had happened, it was too late for him to stop. Hinata, realizing she just might die attempted the only thing that could possibly save her and Naruto. Remembering the leaf exercise Naruto had shown her, she relaxed, and expelled chakra from all her opening points, just in time for Hiashi's to crash into it. Although it was not large, it was enough to stop the attack. Realizing she had done the hardest part, Hinata spun around, though it only knocked the fist away.

Panting heavily, Hiashi dropped to the ground as if he had no energy left. "Perhaps," he started, "Perhaps, I underestimated you," he said directing it both towards Naruto and Hinata.

Naruto, who was panting equally as hard, chuckled a little as the pain from his stomach caused him to pass out.

Author's Notes: End Part I. Part II will be the Chuunin Exam.

This chapter is a little longer since I didn't update in a while. Anyway, I'm starting college on the 29th so no doubt my updates will be even fewer than before. I do plan on continuing though, so no worries.


	11. The Beginning of the End

Author's Notes: Haha, I had a three day weekend today, so you get an update.

The assembled genin teams stood before the massive fence which surrounded the Forest of Death. Once again, the examiner for the second part of the chuunin exam was Mitarashi Anko. Naruto guessed there were forty teams that made it to this stage. The previous exam was not exactly something he expected in such a supposedly high level elimination trial. In the crowd he noticed the recent academy graduate who challenged Sasuke the day before. A wave of jealousy washed over him at the memory. _"Everybody wants to know the abilities of the elite Uchiha," he muttered to himself. Nobody ever cared, or even heard of the Uzumaki clan. His thoughts drifted to Hinata for an instant, but he reminded himself that she would be fine._

The voice of the examiner snapped him back to reality. She was going over again what she had already said in the beginning. Impatience was taking a hold of him. The really young genins were having a hard time believing there would be deaths in this part of the exam. Finally, he grew tired of waiting and yelled out "Hey, old woman, can you hurry up? We don't have all day."

"Oh," Anko replied turning her head towards him, "You're still as spirited as last time."

This time he saw the kunai speed towards his head without any problem. He let it get closer, and closer until it was only a few inches away from his head. _"Shit, she was aiming for my eye!"_ he realized too late. Dodging was out of the question, so he did what came natural to him now. Chakra poured into his Inner Coils system and covered the skin of his face just in time for the knife to rebound uselessly against his defense. In one smooth motion he caught the falling kunai in has hand and aimed it right back at the teacher who was not there anymore…

_"Behind me!"_ he remembered from previous exam. It was too late to stop himself mid-motion but he followed through and spun around on himself with his kunai outstretched.

Right into Anko's waiting kunai who was right where he expected her to be.

"You've lost your touch, old woman," he said with a smirk.

"And you got better," she replied sweetly. To the rest of the group she announced, "Now go and read the forms you received. When you turn them in, you will receive your team's scroll. Go to your assigned gate and wait until the appointed time."

_"And that should give everybody a slight feel of my abilities,"_ Naruto thought to himself. He did not know if that was for better or for worse. Either way, he was going to have fun with this portion of the exam.

There was still another thirty minutes until the start. So far, neither Sasuke nor Sakura had said a word, though he could tell that they wanted to. He could already hear Sakura's voice in his head, _"Naruto, you're always doing something stupid. Why can't you be more like Sasuke?" The thought of it almost made him laugh._

"Naruto," the pink-haired girl rebuked, "You're always doing something stupid. Why can't you be more like Sasuke?"

Naruto withheld a sigh; it was going to be the longest five days of his life.

At the appropriate time, the guards opened the gates and the second stage of the Chuunin Selection Exam was officially underway. Hands rested snugly in his pockets, Naruto calmly strolled into what, at one time, was like a second home.

"Hey," Sasuke called out, "Why aren't we moving faster?"

"There's no hurry," the other boy nearly mumbled, as if lost in thought.

"But we'll get attacked if we don't move around quickly," Sakura said in a worried voice.

"All the better…" was his reply. Meanwhile, within the depths of his consciousness, the demon was growing restless.

_"You know this forest better than anybody,"_ it growled,_ "Why will you not go hunt the others?"_

_"I don't see what the point is if we're going to be attacked anyway."_

_"There is no point in waiting either, all the better to make it swift."_

_"You seem pretty confident in my abilities,"_ Naruto thought with a mental chuckle.

Even though there was no response, he could still feel the presence of the Nine-tails demon floating around in his mind. At this stage of the relationship, it was now a familiar sensation and carried some reassurance with it. But this was not a time to dwell on such thoughts as the trio was right on the edge of a clearing in the thick foliage. Upon entering it, Naruto casually reached for a shuriken and sent it flying into a tree trunk. As if on queue, a rain of kunais fell down only a few meters in front of them. 

Sasuke's eyebrows raised for a little bit, but nothing ever really phased him anymore. Sakura's eyes widened slightly, but she kept silent.

Still with one hand in his pocket, Naruto strode on. With a flick of his wrist, he sent another shuriken to trigger another trap. He paid little attention to the discarded weapons planted into the ground as he made his way to the center of the clearing.

"Naruto," he heard Sakura say, "How did you know about those traps."

"This used to be my favorite sleeping spot, of course I'm going to know if something was changed," he answered like it was obvious.

"But…" she started, only to be interrupted.

"Oi, come and show yourselves, there's no point hiding anymore." As if to press the point, he sent three kunais in separate directions.

"There's no need to waste your weapons like that," Sasuke muttered.

Three cloaked figures dropped to the ground several feet away from the trio. Their headbands gave them away as shinobi from the Hidden Cloud village. All three were masked with only their eyes visible. Even though, just a few minutes ago, their traps were discovered without any problem, they posture bespoke confidence.

Neither group said anything for several minutes. Each sizing the other up, probing for weaknesses. The leaves rustled quietly in the gentle wind. The tension of the situation overflowed and the supposed leader of the Cloud trio spoke up first.

"We have the Heaven scroll," a girl's voice said with a thick accent.

"Is that so…" Naruto responded with a slight grin, "How unlucky then." He could almost feel the relaxing of muscles as he finished. Knowing it would be a lie he continued, "We have the Heaven scroll as well." Behind him, his teammates looked at each other, wondering why he would do such a thing.

"I see," the leader of the other group responded, "Then it seems that we have no more reason to remain."

"Well, I wouldn't be too hasty," Naruto said good naturedly. Chakra collected at his feet and in a blur he stood before the girl Cloud-nin. He ducked as her reflexes kicked in and he side-stepped her attack. A twist of his hips and a shift of balance sent him towards the other two. With the ridge of his hand he whipped himself around and caught one of them square on the temple. The cloaked shinobi fell down, unconscious, without being able to react. The third one pulled out a kunai but was too late. The last thing he saw before his vision faded was a set of eyes framed by blond hair filled with bloodlust.

"Please!" the girl leader exclaimed, "Please don't hurt them anymore." Reaching into her pouch she withdrew the scroll and held it in front of her. "Take it," she begged.

Eyeing her warily, Naruto stepped clear of the unconscious bodies. In a burst of speed he ran forward and thrust his palm near her heart, temporarily cutting off the flow of one of the arteries. The Cloud-nin crumpled into his arms but he let her fall to the ground. Holding the Heaven scroll in his hand, Naruto made a face, "Man, all that work just for a scroll," he complained with a sigh.

"Idiot," Sasuke said with a shake of his head, "We just completed this part of the Exam."

"Yea, but that was boring, let's go have some fun."

"Umm, Naruto, it's only been an hour," she interceded, "We should just head back to the tower." But her words were met with deaf ears as the blond genin ventured further into the thick forest.

It was late in the afternoon when the report of the first team to make it to the tower reached Anko. Instead of waiting outside of the forest gates like she usually did, she was with Kakashi and Asuma. The chuunin who brought the news played the tape on a nearby T.V. as was customary. "That's the team that made it first?" Anko asked in surprise. The team did not look like anything extraordinary. They were from the Hidden Grass village, a place not known for producing outstanding shinobi. Kakashi motioned to the young chuunin and asked, "Have there been any other teams to get to the tower?"

"Not since I've left to bring my report, sir."

"Oi, Kakashi, you don't think your brats would complete Anko's exam this fast, do you?" Asuma said while laughing.

"No, it's not that," Kakashi responded slowly, "That's not what I'm afraid of."

At the same time, in the Forest of Death, Naruto and his teammates were organizing their scrolls. In the short span of a few hours they had encountered two more teams and took their scrolls without much resistance. Both Sasuke and Sakura knew there was no point in taking so many scrolls unless…

"I don't understand," Sakura said in exasperation, "Why did you want another set of scrolls?" In truth, she could only guess, but there were only so many reasons, especially with his behavior.

"I'm going to have some fun, of course," he responded without turning around. Before Sakura could say anything else, he unrolled a Heaven and then an Earth scroll.

Both Sasuke and Sakura knew better than to even try to stop them. Instead, they both moved away to a distance they thought would be safe. Although the last time, the scrolls were prepared to summon a chuunin, or even a jounin, there was no certainty it would be the same now.

Naruto stood waiting. Even though he knew the consequences for opening the scrolls before reaching the tower were dire, he felt confident. Smoke billowed from the scrolls, and a sarcastic voice was heard, "You brats really never learn, do you." A masked figure leapt out and slammed his fist into Naruto's chin, sending him flying off several feet. Even though he saw the punch coming, he preferred to let himself get hit and toy with the ANBU member some more. The only problem was trying to get up. _"Shit, I can't move my body,"_ he realized.

_"It seems as if you have been infected with a paralyzant,"_ the demon growled.

_"Damn it! It wasn't supposed to happen this way. If something happens to those two then I can't go to the next stage."_

_"Worry not, I can remedy this situation."_

Naruto felt the demon's energy flow through him, speeding up his body processed. He physically felt the poison leave his body as he began to sweat profusely. _"Not exactly the best way, but I can't really complain," he thought._

_"I'm glad you approve,"_ the fox answered with a sneer.

Naruto faultered a little in his step as he got back onto his feet. The improvised remedy left him a little light-headed and incredibly thirsty. He saw both Sasuke and Sakura lying unconscious as the ANBU member placed them side by side. "I'm surprised you are able to stand up at all," he said, "It is quite a potent poison. It is no wonder, now, that I was assigned to you." Turning around, the masked figure stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he saw who faced him.

"It's you," he said in shock, "You're the Nine-tails…" and then his voice drifted off.

"The Nine-tails what?" he demanded, rate beginning to swell inside of him.

The ANBU member ignored him and, instead, removed his mask. "I doubt you would remember me, though you killed my parents before I could give them the message to retreat." Vengeance burned in the eyes of the young man.

"You're a fool," Naruto sneered, but he was cut off.

"Don't you even dare to deny it!" the man yelled, delirious with anger. "I will hear your confession before I kill you,"

As he crossed the distance between him and his prey, he stopped, overcome with fear. The same feeling from fourteen years ago suddenly resurfaced so strong it paralyzed him. In front of him, Naruto, who had his eyes closed, opened them again. When he spoke, it struck horror into the very depths of his soul.

"Yes, I remember your parents," he heard the genin say in a voice not his own. It was deeper than any grown man's, and it felt as if he were growling. A sadistic grin spread on the boy's face as he continued, "I especially took pleasure when I ripped them apart."

"Abomination!" the man gasped.

"It is not often that I am granted control of this body. I shall take great pleasure in killing you."

As the demon advanced on his hapless victim, red chakra poured out his body, whipping around in the shapes of nine tails. His mouth lengthened and his teeth sharpened. Even though it was not possible to completely transform a human body, the small changes would be enough. By this time, the chakra being released caused a tree to uproot itself.

In the wake of the advancing boy, the power of the presence of the Nine-tails demon filled up the man's vision. The fear in him was still as strong as it had been that day. Even as the teeth ripped apart his throat he thought back to how helpless he was back then, and how he still was today. Consciousness blinked to darkness and was no more.

In the Hidden Leaf village, the adults were abuzz with chatter.

"Did you feel that?"

"Yea, feels like way back when."

"Did the seal break?"

"I'll bet it did."

"No way, it's too strong to break."

Amid the excitement, one person remained calm. In the administration building, the Fifth Hokage sat ponderously in her chair, staring at the picture of the First. Ever since Kakashi came to her with his concerns, she knew something like this would happen. _"Am I doing the right thing, Grandfather?"_ Tsunade wondered to herself. No matter the decision, there would be no turning back.

One of her assistants came rushing through the door, "Tsunade-sama," he said with a pause to catch his breath, "There is bad news from the Chuunin Exam."

"So it has begun," she murmured to herself.


End file.
